Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung arrived in Milan, Italy on October 16 to attend the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) scheduled for October 16-17.

He will be the keynote introductory speaker in the plenary session on global issues and attend a dialogue with Asian and European businesses as part of the 14th Asia-Europe Business Forum.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The summit will discuss issues of strategic cooperation between Asia and Europe as well as global cooperation.

During the event, Vietnam will propose several initiatives, with a focus on the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, vocational training and human resources development, water resource management, natural disaster responses, and the Mekong-Danube cooperation.

Vietnam has always been a proactive, motivated, and responsible member of the forum. The country hosted the fifth ASEM in 2004 and five ministerial meetings on economics, science-technology, foreign affairs, education, and labour.

Vietnam’s initiatives on water resource management, green growth and climate change responses were highly appreciated by other members at the ninth ASEM in Laos in 2012.

According to Ambassador-Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, Franz Jessen, the country played an active role in ASEM. As the coordinator of ASEAN-EU relations, Vietnam worked hard to integrate ASEAN interests into ASEM, he noted.

Previously, the PM visited Belgium and Germany.

Source: VNA