Vietnam ’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Nov. 12 met with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan prior to the plenary session of the G20 Summit.

The meeting was initiated by Vietnam , aimed at sharing information and seeking consensus between Vietnam , Singapore and the ASEAN Secretariat on the bloc’s participation and initiatives at the G20 Summit and stepping up bilateral cooperation between the two groups as well.

As Chair of ASEAN 2010, PM Dung said that Vietnam has worked together with other ASEAN member nations to draft documents regarding the bloc’s common viewpoints on the summit’s agenda as well as Vietnam ’s proposals to be discussed at the summit, including the suggestion for the formalisation of G20’s invitation to the ASEAN Chair to attend G20 summits.

These documents also cover the ASEAN’s recommendations related to the global economy, world trade, reforms of international financial institutions, sustainable development, climate change and the protection of maritime ecological environment.

Dung stressed that the G20 Summit’s agenda should focus on assistance to not only underdeveloped and low-income countries but also developing nations, including ASEAN members, to help them avoid falling into the “middle-income trap” or relapse into the group of low-income states due to changes of the regional and world economies.

Both Lee and Pitsuwan applauded and affirmed their support for Vietnam ’s initiatives and proposals, saying Vietnam has showed its active role as Chair of ASEAN at this important forum.

Later in the Nov. 12 morning, the first plenary session of the G20 summit opened in Seoul , the Republic of Korea , focusing on issues related to trade imbalance and monetary policies./.