Illustrative image (Source: 123rf.com)Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese, Indonesian and Malaysian embassies in Venezuela have coordinated with the Latin America and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) to organised a workshop on ASEAN-SELA economic cooperation, in the capital Caracas.
Representatives from ASEAN member states gave a presentation on the development and major achievements of the bloc across three pillars: politics-security, economics, and culture-society.
Vietnamese Ambassador Ngo Tien Dung highlighted the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 as a significant milestone to step up connectivity and integration in a region with a combined population of over 630 million and a gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.6 billion USD.
He said that insufficient market information due to geographical distance has made the investment and trade exchange between ASEAN and SELA restricted.
However, he confirmed that there is large room for the two sides to increase multi-faceted cooperation, especially in economics, trade, tourism, science and education.
The diplomat suggested the involved parties increase high-level delegation exchanges and push ahead with the signing of inter-regional cooperation agreements to create a legal foundation for the enhancement of their collaboration in various fields.
He also shared Vietnam’s experience in reform, specifically in poverty reduction and climate change adaptation as well as the country’s opportunities and challenges in regional and global economic integration.
Established in October 1975, SELA is a regional intergovernmental organisation, which comprises 27 members, including Venezuela.-VNA
