Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended a ceremony to mark the 43rdASEAN founding anniversary and the 15th year of Vietnam’s accessionto the bloc in Hanoi on August 7, highlighting achievements, valuesand important role of the association.
“ASEAN is the topimportant element in maintaining peace, security and cooperation fordevelopment in the region,” he said in his opening speech, adding thatthe bloc plays the role of a driving force in promoting cooperation andlinkage in East Asia, particularly in economics and trade.
Withits strategic geographical position in the region as well as its openpolicies and great contributions, ASEAN has become an indispensablepartner of major countries and centres in the world, he stressed.
Inhis speech, the Prime Minister recalled the association’s growing-upand unceasing developments over the past 43 years, affirming itsimportant role for peace, stability, mutual understanding and trust inthe region.
“Results of ASEAN cooperation, both within the blocand with outside partners, have created an important material premisefor the association to deepen and expand regional connectivity in thesubsequent stage and to raise its international role and position,” hesaid.
To further enhance regional cooperation in the future, thePM said ASEAN needs to continue its efforts to maintain regional peaceand security, appropriately deal with latent risks that might causeunrests.
Regarding economic connectivity, he said the biggestrequirement is the effective implementation of existing agreements.Therefore, relevant countries need to make strong commitments andefforts on liberalisation and opening market to remove barriers to theregional economic connectivity, particularly protectionism.
Socio-culturally,ASEAN needs to accelerate the goal of building a Socio-CulturalCommunity, thus serving and bettering the people’s life, he added.
Atthe ceremony, Prime Minister Dung also emphasised Vietnam’scontributions to the association since joining it 15 years ago.
Accessionto ASEAN has brought Vietnam important and practical benefits,supporting the country’s security and development, he said.
As aproactive, positive and responsible member in the ASEAN family, Vietnamwill spare no effort to successfully build the ASEAN Community by 2015,first of all to fulfill its role of the ASEAN Chair in 2010 in line with the theme “Toward the ASEAN Community: from Vision to Action”, the PMstressed.
“Vietnam has and will continue to join hands withother ASEAN members, friend countries and partners to strive for anASEAN Community of unity, integrity and prosperity, for a Southeast Asiaand an East Asia of peace, stability, cooperation and development," hepledged.
On this occasion, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan spoke highly of Vietnam’s contributions to ASEAN’s achievements.
Vietnam has shown that ASEAN is an important element inits external policy, and its priority of raising the bloc’s prestige andposition on the international arena this year, the ASEAN chief said.
Foundedin 1967, ASEAN – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – groupsBrunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./.
