Participants discuss at the seminar in Hanoi on May 22 (Photo: thesaigontimes.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – A seminar was held in Hanoi on May 22to discuss ways to support Vietnam’s role as coordinator of ASEAN’s relationswith the Pacific Alliance (PA), thus strengthening cooperative ties between thetwo blocs and between Vietnam and the PA.
The event was part of the PA Week in Hanoi fromMay 22-28, with a range of activities such as gastronomy, a film festival and aphoto and product exhibition.
The seminar was attended by senior officials ofVietnam and PA members, including Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, along withrepresentatives of 49 embassies and Vietnamese firms, which are interested inLatin American markets.
In his opening speech, Secretary-General of thePacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Eduardo Pedrosa highlighted thegoals of the PA, including building a deeply integrated region; promotinggrowth, development and competitiveness of the member economies; and forming aforum on political cooperation as well as economic and trade integration.
Vu Quang Minh, Assistant the Foreign Minister ofVietnam, spoke highly of the PA’s role in the recent outstanding development ofthe Asian-Pacific region. Established in 2011, the alliance has developed rapidlyand impressed the whole world with its regional connectivity process in variousfields, he said.
Latin America is always a very important regionin Vietnam’s foreign policy and international cooperation, Minh said, addingthat the PA countries are critical partners of Vietnam. Their political tieswith Vietnam have continually been reinforced through mutual visits andmeetings between senior leaders on the fringe of international conferences.
Minh said economic and trade relations betweenVietnam and the four PA members have kept growing by 15-20 percent each year,exceeding 7 billion USD in 2016 – accounting for 50 percent of Vietnam’s totaltrade with the Latin American region. The Southeast Asian nation and the PAcountries have also cooperated in many other spheres such asscience-technology, response to climate change, social welfares, agriculture,tourism, public transport, urban infrastructure development, culture andeducation.
At the seminar, participants discussed manyissues regarding cooperation areas in order to enhance the friendship, culturalexchanges and trade ties between Vietnam and the PA.-VNA
VNA
