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Vietnam to push cooperation with ASEAN partners
On September 6 afternoon, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc his spouse led a Vietnamese delegation to join other leaders from ASEAN member states at the 28th & 29th ASEAN Summits and related high-level meetings in Vientiane, Laos.
PM Phuc is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, and other officials. The visit is made at the invitation of Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith.
Taking place on September 6-9, the ASEAN Summit and related meetings will see the participation of leaders from 10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US, Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand, and the attendance of the UN General Secretary.
This is the first ASEAN Summit held since the official formation of the ASEAN Community on December 31, 2015. The meetings will focus discussion on strengthening ASEAN connectivity, solidarity and the bloc’s central role in the region while enhancing cooperation between the association and its partners. Leaders will also take the occasion to exchange views on regional and international issues of shared concerns.
The association has gained positive strides in implementing ASEAN Vision 2025 and blueprints across three pillars. Regarding the political-security pillar, 140 out of 290 action lines set in the ASEAN Blueprint 2025 have been implemented effectively, with the most outstanding examples including the launching of hotlines between ASEAN defense agencies and the establishment of ASEAN Centre of Military Medicine.
In economic term, 530 out of 611 action lines set in the blueprint are being carried out to promote trade of goods and services, competition, and protection of customers’ rights and intellectual property. The association is building a general strategic action plan for the ASEAN Economic Community through 2025.
Regarding culture and society, ASEAN is implementing activities across 109 action lines in the fields of education, youths, sports and culture. The association is pushing ahead with the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) to narrow development gaps in five areas: food and agriculture; trade facilitation; small-and medium-sized enterprises; education; and health and social welfare.
The Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 will be submitted to the bloc’s leaders, which focuses on five strategic fields: infrastructure; digital innovation; seamless logistics; optimizing policy making and implementing; and movement of natural persons.
In 2016, the relations between ASEAN and its partners have been further cemented and deepened via the implementation of action programs in the 2016-2020 period, especially via the successful organization of the US-ASEAN Sunnylands Summit; the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-Russia Federation Dialogue; as well as the ASEAN-China Special Foreign Ministers Meeting.
Additionally, the bloc is further improving its operation and promoting awareness campaigns towards the celebration of the 50th founding anniversary of ASEAN in 2017. Vietnam has been an active, proactive and responsible member of ASEAN, and will continue to promote its role and cooperation with other members to implement the ASEAN Vision 2025.
