Driving ASEM 9 forward

The country’s proposals at the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM 9) held during November 5-6 in Laos’ Vientiane received big applause with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said the “Friends for Peace, Partners for Prosperity”-themed event adopted Vietnam’s two initiatives. These are the organisation of an ASEM summit on natural disaster prevention and relief in coping with climate change and an ASEM conference on the management of water and river basins.

“This was the first time ASEM adopted an initiative on coping with natural calamities,” Son said.
He said Vietnam had also tabled many feasible proposals to boost ASEM cooperation, headlined by economic cooperation, supporting member states in transforming growth models, green economic development, intra-ASEM and inter-regional connectivity and connectivity of the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

“These proposals have also been highly valued and supported by ASEM members,” he said.
Notably, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were also invited to chew over ASEM 9 issues.

Dung said global issues needed to be settled in combination with the Millennium Development Goals, focusing on environmental protection, poverty reduction and gender equality. “As ASEM represents almost 60 per cent of global population and contributes half of the world’s gross domestic product, it is responsible for establishing global cooperative mechanisms and resolve common challenges and issues. We shall continue to reform the United Nations and other international financial institutions to improve the effectiveness of regional and inter-regional connectivity.”

Dung said regional structures must be constructive, transparent and effective in coping with traditional and non-traditional challenges.

He said regional disputes must be settled through peaceful negotiations and on the basis of the international law, including the ASEAN Six-point Principle on the East Sea.

“Vietnam always attaches importance to promoting and sharpening multi-faceted cooperation with ASEM members. All of Vietnam’s leading strategic partners and most of its top FTA partners are ASEM members.

“These partnerships and connectivity as well as efforts to contribute to the ASEM cooperation are of key significance to Vietnam’s new strategic period,” he said.

ASEM 9 adopted two important documents - the Vientiane Declaration on Strengthening Partnership for Peace and Development and the ASEM 9 Chair’s Statement. The event also saw the admission of three new members to ASEM, Bangladesh, Norway and Switzerland.

On the sidelines of ASEM 9, Dung held talks with leaders from France, Bulgaria, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Finland, Italy, Slovenia, Luxembourg and European Committee President Jose Manuel Barroso.

“Dung and these leaders discussed many specific measures to promote multi-faceted cooperation and friendship, especially in the economic, trade and investment sectors,” Son said.
Notably, Dung and Indonesia’s President Yudhoyono pledged to consider possibilities for lifting the Vietnam-Indonesia relationship to a strategic partnership.