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Delegates pose for a joint photo |
Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Hoai Duong said over the last two decades, Vietnam has played an active part in strengthening the regional friendship, solidarity and cooperation and the enlargement of ASEAN with the admission of Laos and Cambodia, allowing the bloc to heighten its position in the world arena.
Vietnam has been closely working with ASEAN member states to develop the ASEAN Community vision, aiming to deepen the links between ASEAN and other groups in the world through integration and dialogue, he noted.
The establishment of the ASEAN Community with three pillars in politics-security, economy and socio-culture will further improve ASEAN’s central role in the evolving regional architecture, he said, adding that it was a success of ASEAN after five decades since it was founded.
Vietnam will continue going side by side with other member countries on the path towards the development of a united ASEAN Community that is key to the peace, security and prosperity of the region and the globe.
At the meetings, diplomats from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand highly spoke of Vietnam’s contribution to the development of ASEAN since it joined the bloc in 1995. They expected Vietnam would continue making concerted efforts alongside other member states in building a peaceful and prosper ASEAN.
Director General for Asia-Pacific at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alfonso de María y Campos, for his part, said he hopes that ASEAN will further intensify friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Mexico, particularly in the fields of economics, trade, investment and culture.
ASEAN, a community of more than 600 million people, has an average GDP of about 3 trillion USD per annum and a third largest pool of workforce, after China and India. It is internationally known as one of the most successful regional cooperation organisations in the world.
Source: VNA