Vietnam will work closely with other ASEAN countries to enhancesolidarity within the bloc and add to the ASEAN Community’s strength.
This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh at a meetingin the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh , from March 3-6 to prepare theagendas and paperwork for the 20 th ASEAN Summit which is due to takeplace from April 3-4.
Vinh highlighted the significance ofthe plans to ensure the ASEAN Community is developed on the community’sthree pillars which are politics-security, economy and social-culture.
He stressed on the need to develop the bloc’sinfrastructure and strengthen relations with its partners to build aprosperous community.
He said that ASEAN needs to upholdits proactive role in an evolving regional architecture and work withothers to deal with global challenges such the economic downturn,natural disasters, climate change, maritime security and epidemics.
He pointed out the advantages of the current cooperative mechanisms inthe region, including the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in SoutheastAsia (TAC), the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (SEANWFZ), theDeclaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), the ASEANRegional Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting Plus(ADMM+).
He congratulated Cambodia on becoming theASEAN chair for 2012, pledging that Vietnam will help the country tofulfill its duties.
The three day meeting gathered a host of senior ASEAN officials in charge of economics, security and culture.
The meeting also reviewed the steps taken to develop human resources aswell as discussing macroeconomic and financial policies. Also high onthe agenda was upgrading the infrastructure, enhancing regionalcommunications and freeing up the movement of goods, services,investment, labour and capital throughout the region by 2015.
Regarding security issues, a regional Code of Conduct (COC) in theEast Sea was discussed and Vinh underlined the need to continue withefforts to ensure peace, stability, security and maritime safety andaddress any disputes through dialogue while respecting internationallaws. Also proposed was the setting up of an ASEAN Institute for Peaceand Recommendation and the draft of a treaty to ensure Southeast Asiaremains a nuclear weapon free zone.
On thesocio-cultural issues, they reviewed a paper on small and medium sizedcultural enterprises, the arts, an ASEAN TV channel, migrant workers,drugs, climate change, and women and children issues./.