The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should renovate its apparatus and operations so as to become more effective and less cumbersome and take feasible measures to quickly narrow development divide among member countries, Vietnamese media quoted Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem as saying.
To achieve its goals, Khiem said, ASEAN also needs to maintain its balanced relations with outsiders, especially big countries, and play a key role in solving regional issues.
Khiem also told local media in Hanoi August 6 that all member countries should have harmonious combination between national interests and the common benefits of the whole region for the purpose of building an ASEAN community of solidarity, consensus and closer coordination.
The overall target of ASEAN is to build the bloc into an intergovernmental organization with close internal cooperation and open external policy, Khiem said.
ASEAN is looking towards the building of a common community by 2015 with three key pillars including Securities Community, Economic Community, and Socio-cultural Community. The ASEAN Common Community is legally based on ASEAN Charter, which will be approved by the end of this year in Singapore. At the same time, the association will also boost its cooperation with outsiders for peace, stability and cooperation for mutual benefit in the region, he added.
With great achievements after 40 years of development ASEAN is seen one of the most successful organizations in the world, Khiem noted.
According to him the most important result is that ASEAN has attracted all countries in Southeast Asia namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Internal cooperation has been expanded to various fields, helping member countries in socio-economic development and external relations promotion. ASEAN has maintained its basic principles and flexibly used ASEAN rules of conduct to overcome many difficulties.
ASEAN has become so important that big countries and economic centers in the world now must pay due attention to when they work out their policies towards the Asia-Pacific region, Khiem said.
Vietnam became a full member of ASEAN in 1995. As of July 22 this year ASEAN countries, excluding Myanmar, had 976 valid projects in Vietnam, accounting for 12.6 per cent of the total FDI project into Vietnam. The total registered capital is US$13.44 billion and disbursed capital reached over US$6.26 billion, representing 19 per cent and 20.2 per cent, respectively.
Regarding to trade, ASEAN now accounts for nearly 35 per cent of Vietnam’s total import turnover and 16 per cent of the total export market share.
In the coming time, ASEAN will continuously be the target of Vietnam’s external policy. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is to make a trip to Indonesia, the Philippine, Singapore, Myanmar, and Brunei from August 8-16, the first trip abroad since he was re-elected.
The visit aims to strengthen traditional friendship and deepen multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and other ASEAN member countries. (Website of Vietnamese Communist Party, Vietnam Panorama)
Vietnamese
