Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung joined leaders of other ASEAN member countries and six dialogue partners to discuss issues of regional concern at the 4th East Asian Summit (EAS), which took place in Cha-am Hua Hin, Thailand, on October 25.

At the summit, the leaders of ASEAN states and six dialogue countries, including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand highly valued the development of the EAS framework, saying that it has helped strengthen dialogue and cooperation for peace, security and prosperity in East Asia .

Speaking at the event, the Vietnamese PM stressed that the EAS framework should prioritise cooperation in education and training, serving the development of a knowledge-based economy and effectively coping with global challenges.

He suggested countries that are strong in education and training take the initiative in boosting cooperation and assistance in this field among ASEAN members, especially developing countries like Vietnam.

PM Dung emphasised the significance of boosting educational cooperation and raising regional people’s awareness of specific issues such as environmental protection, disaster and disease prevention.

He suggested the building of a community education programme in order to raise public awareness of disaster preparedness and response.

In the face of climate change and rising sea level, the Vietnamese government leader urged dialogue countries to participate in establishing an East Asia environment education centre in Vietnam and assist the country in implementing its national programmes to cope with these burning issues.

At the end of the summit, the regional leaders endorsed an East Asia declaration on disaster management and a press communiqué on the restoration of India ’s Nalanda University.

On the same day, the leaders witnessed the signing of the ASEAN agreement on preferences and exemptions, and memoranda of understanding on the establishment of the ASEAN-China Centre as well as cooperation in intellectual property and in harmonising technical standards./.