19th ASEAN-India Senior Officials' Meeting takes place in India

At the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on regional and international issues, reviewed their cooperation over the past time, discussed measures to boost cooperation in the time to come, and at the same time prepare for the 25^th anniversary of the ASEAN-India strategic partnership (1992-2017).

Delegates of the 19th ASEAN-India Senior Officials' Meeting in a joint photo. (Photo: VOV)

As the coordinator of the ASEAN-India relations for the 2015-2018 period, the head of the ASEAN-Vietnam's SOM said that ASEAN and India should carry out more activities such as people-to-people exchanges based on the similarities in history, culture and religion, contributing to fostering the two sides' cooperation in terms of politics and security, economy, culture and society.

Regarding regional and international issues, the Vietnamese deputy foreign minister affirmed that despite challenges, the ASEAN community has still served as an engine for solidarity, stability, and development of all member countries. Thus, many partners of ASEAN, especially powerful countries, respected and advocated all regional processes set up by the community, he added.

In addition, he also stressed that all countries can earn benefits from, and therefore should have responsibility for regional peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation, including India, the country that is in close relations with the ASEAN community regarding sea routes for marine transportation from the Indian Ocean to other regions in the world. As a result, all related sides should strictly observe international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS) as well as other diplomatic and legal processes such as the Declaration on the Code of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), he said.