Viet Nam, as Chair of ASEAN in 2020, is exerting every effort to boost the building of a cohesive and responsive ASEAN Community so that the bloc can deal with all possible challenges and difficulties, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Source: VNA)

Addressing an international symposium on “Viet Nam - ASEAN: 25-year Journey and the Way Forward” on 19 August, Minh reaffirmed that ASEAN is an important pillar in Viet Nam’s foreign policy and a framework for cooperation in security and development.

As the future of member states, including Viet Nam, is closely tied to ASEAN, all have responsibility for and an interest in consolidating a united and strong ASEAN Community that holds a deserving role and position in the region and the world.

Since its entry into ASEAN 25 years ago, Viet Nam has served as an active, proactive, and responsible member that has wholeheartedly contributed to the bloc’s development, Minh said.

Becoming an ASEAN member was also a good first step in Viet Nam’s regional and international integration and it treasures the support of other member states, he added.

Minh also affirmed that the mutual understanding and strategic trust that ASEAN has created over the decades will continue to serve as an important foundation for member states to boost win-win cooperation and dialogue to form a peaceful and favourable environment for sustainable development in the region.

The symposium, held online by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attracted the participation of ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, former ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh, former Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, and Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office of Laos Bounkert Sangsomsak, among others.

It focused discussions on the importance of ASEAN for Viet Nam, the country’s participation in the bloc’s activities, valuable lessons for the way forward, opportunities and challenges facing ASEAN in the time to come, and ASEAN in Viet Nam’s intensive and comprehensive international integration policy.

Source: VNA