Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem has urged relevant ministries and agencies to speed up preparations for upcoming activities for the year as Vietnam assumes the ASEAN Chair.

Khiem made the request at the fifth session of the 2010 ASEAN National Committee, which aimed to review the organisation of the 16th ASEAN Summit and discuss the implementation of upcoming activities during the ASEAN Chair year, held in Hanoi on April 29.

The activities include the 15th anniversary of Vietnam ’s admission to ASEAN, the 43rd founding anniversary of the association, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and other related meetings.

The 17th ASEAN Summit, the East Asia Summit, and a summit between ASEAN and its partners to be held in October will be important events during the year.

At the session, Deputy PM Khiem said that the 16th ASEAN Summit, the first high-ranking meeting in 2010, concluded successfully. Under the theme of “Towards the ASEAN Community: from Vision to Action”, the summit reached a number of agreements on the implementation of the ASEAN Charter and the building of the ASEAN Community, cooperation in coping with global challenges, ASEAN’s foreign relations and its role in the region.

The summit adopted the Statement on Sustained Recovery and Development and the Statement on Joint Response to Climate Change.

22 related activities and events, 10 bilateral meetings between Vietnam and other regional countries and 10 bilateral meetings among ASEAN members also took place during the April 5-9 summit, which drew the participation of nearly 500 delegates and over 600 domestic and foreign reporters./.