Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the plenary session in Bangkok on November 2 (Photo: VNA) Bangkok (VNA) – Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc attended the plenary meeting of the 35th summit of theAssociation of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related meetings inBangkok in the afternoon of November 2.
The countriesreviewed the results of the implementation of the priorities under the theme ofpromoting the partnership for sustainability. They spoke highly of theprogressed gained in the building of the ASEAN Community and stressed that thebloc need to maintain its role and significance as the core force in pushing uppeace, stability, dialogue and cooperation in the region.
The participants alsoagreed to continue broadening and deepening the relationship between the ASEANand partners, accelerating the sustainable development of the ASEAN, in linewith the objectives of the United Nations’ agenda 2030 on sustainabledevelopment goals.
PM Phuc highlightedthe solidarity and consensus of the ASEAN and stressed the importance of thebuilding of the regional architecture which is open, transparent and working onthe basis of laws. He asked the ASEAN countries to bring into play thesolidarity supporting Vietnam in accomplishing the tasks of the ASEAN Chair in2020, building the ASEAN Community of sustainable development and havingintensive and extensive relations with the partners.
He highlighted thatin the complicated regional and world situation with advantages and challenges existingtogether, the countries need to have a common voice, building the regionalstructure which is open, transparent and based on the law, and making effectivecontributions to peace and stability in the region and the world over. On thebasis of the achievements recorded, Vietnam will further bring into play thetheme of sustainable development and consolidate the solidarity among themembers.
Regarding the EastSea issue, PM Phuc stressed that the prerequisite to achieve peace andstability is to maintain an order that respect the international law. In therecent past, there were serious violations of the international law in the seaof the region and Vietnam. They just came to an end but have left profoundlessons for ASEAN and this sheds more light on the fact that security andstability in the East Sea now is very fragile and requires serious pledges andresponsibility of all the countries in the region to ensure that similarincidents will not be repeated. Vietnam is determined and persistent inprotecting the international law in the international relations in general andin the East Sea issues in particular.
In that context, theleader affirmed ASEAN has maintained solidarity and unity, manifested throughthe stance raised at the 52nd foreign ministerial meeting, upholdingthe importance of peace, stability, respect to the international law, ensuringsecurity, safety and freedom of navigation, aviation, stressing restraint fromacts that complicate the situation, fully implementing the Declaration on theConducts of the parties in the East Sea (DOC) and building the Code of Conductsin the East Sea (COC). He also expressed Vietnam’s desire on building the EastSea into a sea of peace, stability and sustainable development.
The same day, PM Phuchad separate meetings with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Thai PrimeMinister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
At the meeting withthe UN leader, PM Phuc affirmed that Vietnam supports multilateralism and isdetermined to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 and theParis treaty on coping with climate change, as well as supports his efforts inthe reform of the UN development system.
For his part, the UN chief said Vietnam is a vanguard in manyfields, spoke highly of the country’s effective participation and hoped Vietnamwill make more active contributions to the UN’s peacekeeping efforts.
The two agreed to intensify cooperation and connectionactivities between the ASEAN and the UN during Vietnam’s ASEAN chairmanship in2020 and its term of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in2020-2021. On the East Sea situation, they shared the viewpoint on the need toensure peace, stability, freedom and security of navigation and aviation,reaching the COC at an early in the spirit of ensuring respect for theinternational law and the UNCLOS 1982. PM Phuc invited Guterres to visitVietnam on the occasion of the ASEAN Summit in 2020, and the invitation wasaccepted.
At the meeting with the Thai PM in the evening of November 2,PM Phuc expressed his belief that his Thai counterpart will lead the country toachieve sustainable development and successfully accomplish the role of theASEAN Chair for 2019. He expressed his hope that the two countries will closelycoordinate to boost the bilateral strategic partnership, and asked the Thaileader to facilitate the distribution of Vietnamese goods in the Thai marketand to support the life of the people of the Vietnamese origin in Thailand.
The Thai leaderproposed the two countries intensify their coordination in dealing with issuesthat have common impact on the ASEAN, and agreed to look for ways to improvetrade revenue and investment scale.
The two leadersagreed to boost close coordination to achieve the common goals of building theASEAN Community, strengthen the central role of the ASEAN, promote therelationship with the partners, and dealing with security issues in the region,including the East Sea issue.
The same day, PM Phucattended the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between theASEAN and the FIFA./.
VNA
