Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at the meeting
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US Secretary of State John Kerry affirmed the US’s long-term commitment to the Asia-Pacific region and the importance it attaches to relations with the ASEAN. The US also supports the building of the ASEAN Community and the bloc’s central role in the region, he said.
ASEAN foreign ministers had meetings with the President of the 31 st UN General Assembly and the UN Secretary General, who expressed wish to enhance ties between the UN and ASEAN across the board, especially in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and coping with current global challenges.
The two sides discussed orientations and measures to boost ties between ASEAN and the UN, particularly to realise the outcomes of the eighth ASEAN-UN Summit held in Vientiane on September 7, the UN’s 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the 2025 ASEAN Community Vision. The sides also exchanged views on regional and global situation, including the East Sea issue and non-traditional challenges such as terrorism, trans-national crimes and climate change.
Speaking at the events, Deputy PM Minh stressed that ASEAN continually treasures comprehensive cooperation with important partners, including the US and the UN. He urged the US to support the bloc in priority fields of connectivity, small and medium-sized enterprises, start-up and innovation, science-technology, education-training, climate change and Greater Mekong Sub-region development. The Vietnamese leader wished that the UN would work closely with ASEAN to achieve the SDGs, improve the region’s capacity of connectivity and address trans-national challenges.
He also asked ASEAN and partners to continue contributing to common efforts to maintain peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety and freedom in the East Sea; promote the obedience to international law, especially the principles of self-restraint, peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and respect for diplomatic and legal process; effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea as soon as possible.
Ministers extolled achievements in implementing the Trade and Investment Framework Agreements, the Expanded Economic Engagement, and Good Regulatory Practices. They also acknowledged progress in bilateral cooperation in information-technology and telecommunication services as well as the first forum on ASEAN-US environment and trade dialogue.
Vietnam will work with the US and ASEAN member states to speed up two initiatives on establishing an ASEAN-US centre for small and medium enterprises and a centre for studying climate change issues, which were proposed by former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the last ASEAN Summit.
