Third Indian Ocean Conference opens in Hanoi

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh emphasized the stronger Indo-Pacific ties.

At the opening ceremony. (Photo: VOV)

Minh shared Vietnam’s viewpoints on building a suitable regional architecture that can bring security benefits and practical development for all related countries.

He said while serving its national interests, Vietnam also contributes to regional common interests. Accordingly, Vietnam is persistent in pursuing its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification of international relations.

As a responsible member in the international community, Vietnam has supported the multilateralism and honor international law, especially the principle of peacefully addressing disputes and respecting independence, sovereignty and legal interests of other countries.

The Vietnamese diplomat also laid stress on ASEAN’s central role as key to any regional architectures.

During the two-day conference, nine discussions will focus on security, economic and trade issues in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific connectivity, on the formation of a regional architecture, proposals for cooperation among related countries in building trust, respecting international standards and law, solving disputes by peaceful approaches, managing seas, and handling non-traditional challenges at sea.

Translated by Mai Huong