The Vietnamese Ministries of Trade, Foreign Affairs and Culture & Information will jointly organize a workshop in Hanoi August 10 to discuss Vietnam’s orientations and measures to play a greater role in the building of the ASEAN community, said local media.
This will be part of activities to take place in Vietnam to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the foundation of ASEAN.
The current situation of ASEAN, the prospect of ASEAN cooperation in economics, politics, security, and social and cultural affairs, the target of building a common community for ASEAN member countries, and the role of Vietnam are also be high on the agenda of the seminar.
Representatives from ministries, agencies and business circles will also review the development of ASEAN and Vietnam’s accession since 1995.
Vietnam has taken an active role in and made practical contributions to major issues of the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM-40) and its related conferences held recently in the Philippines.
It has pushed up the execution of ASEAN's programs and key plans of action designed for forming a regional community, narrowing the development gap, reducing poverty as well as upholding the group's leading role in the regional process.
Vietnam has made enthusiastic contributions to specific clauses of the charter and to discussions on the implementation of the Initiative on ASEAN Integration (IAI) on narrowing the development disparity within the bloc and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
The country has worked closely with other members to expand and deepen the group's external relations by taking the advantage of such mechanisms and forums as ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum. Vietnam has also made contribution to the process of building and finalizing the ASEAN-Canada action plan for the 2007-2010 period.
At these conferences, ASEAN countries congratulated Vietnam on its membership to the World Trade Organization and affirmed their recognition of the country's full market economy. Vietnam also gained ASEAN member countries' and dialogue partners' backing for its run for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council in the 2008-2009 term.
In an interview with Vietnam News Agency in Hanoi August 2 Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Laura Q. Del Rosario highly appreciated Vietnam’s increasing role in ASEAN.
(VNA)
Vietnamese
