Winning plaudits for lead role

ASEAN’s Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said at last week’s 17th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits that throughout 15 years of participation in ASEAN, Vietnam had proactively integrated and participated in every aspect of ASEAN cooperation to strengthen the bloc’s internal and external cooperation.

“With the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2010, Vietnam is doing its best to push forwards ASEAN’s common efforts through concrete actions and measures in order to build the ASEAN community by 2015,” Pitsuwan said.

Under Vietnam’s ASEAN chairmanship, the ministers had extensive discussions to advance ASEAN’s efforts under the theme “Towards the ASEAN Community: from Vision to Action”.

“Once again ASEAN congratulates Vietnam on its ASEAN chairmanship. Vietnam is playing a coveted role in ASEAN. We welcome and look for Vietnam’s leadership in combining ASEAN member countries into common goals and interests,” Pitsuwan said.

At present, ASEAN member states are exerting effort to successfully build the ASEAN community based on political-security, economic and socio-cultural pillars by 2015.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Vietnam was a proactive member of ASEAN.

He said building ASEAN was one of Vietnam’s strategic priorities and ASEAN membership provided the country with favourable conditions for its national construction and defence. Vietnam considered ASEAN participation an important part of its foreign policy of openness, diversification, multilateralisation, and active regional and international integration.

Vietnam would continue to participate in ASEAN cooperation in the interests of a stronger and more integrated ASEAN, he said.

“We call upon all ASEAN member states to actively discuss common challenges and our responses. I am hopeful that we will join hands in building up a more integrated and stronger ASEAN community by 2015.

“I also look forward to receiving active support from other ASEAN member states, ASEAN’s partners and other international friends for Vietnam to accomplish our ASEAN chairmanship this year,” he said.

Pitsuwan believed that Vietnam would fully tap its advantages to build a strong ASEAN community for the benefit of member countries and goals that ASEAN was aiming for.