Successfully organising the 17th ASEAN Summit and related summits has demonstrated Vietnam’s most prominent contribution to ASEAN over the past year

Hanoi (VNA) – Successfully organising the 17 th ASEAN Summit and related summits
has demonstrated Vietnam ’s most prominent contribution to the association
over the past year and proved that it is a proactive, enthusiastic and highly
responsible member of the association.

From Oct. 28 to 30, the 17 th ASEAN Summit and related summits took place
hectically in Hanoi , with 40 important diplomatic events and the participation
of the top leaders of Southeast Asian countries and their eight partners.

Acting with determination and concerted efforts to realise the building of the ASEAN
Community by 2015, the 17 th ASEAN Summit adopted concrete and consistent measures
for effective and timely implementation of the set programmes and plans, on the
basis of the ASEAN Charter.

At this summit, the endorsed plans and statements of action not only highlighted a
“culture of execution” in the association but also underscored the practicality
and people-centred vision of ASEAN’s cooperation and dialogue relations.

Prominent among these plans was the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity which looks to
enhance infrastructure, institutional and people-to-people connectivity in ASEAN.

Together with that, a series of declarations was adopted, namely the ASEAN
Declaration on Human Resources and Skills Development for Economic Recovery and
Sustainable Growth, the Hanoi Declaration on the Enhancement of Welfare and
Development for ASEAN Women and Children, and the ASEAN Declaration on Cooperation
in Search and Rescue of Persons and Vessels in Distress at Sea.

Part of ASEAN’s concerted efforts to build the people-centred Community, these
initiatives, all proposed by Vietnam have gained high consensus from the
association’s members.

If solidarity and close intra-bloc integration have shaped ASEAN’s strength,
external relations will help the association secure increased cooperation and
effective assistance from the outsiders to achieve its set goals.

Realising that, the association has preserved a policy of stepping up external
relations and deepening existing dialogue ties and cooperation in a higher quality
and more practical manner, and at the same time, ensuring ASEAN centrality in an
evolving regional architecture.

As a result, the 17 th ASEAN Summit and related summits saw the presence of UN
General Secretary Ban Ki-moon and the top leaders of China, Japan, the Republic of
Korea, India, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand.
Also, intensive discussions were held between ASEAN and its partners to seek ways
and means to further their dialogue relations and cooperation.

At this summit ASEAN decided to elevate its ties with the UN towards special
partnership and its dialogue relations with the RoK to strategic partnership.

In another important event, the East Asia Summit (EAS) has for the first time seen
the attendance of the US Secretary of State and Russian Foreign Minister.

The diplomats, as representatives of their Presidents and as “special guests of
the Chair”, came to prepare for their countries’ official participation in the
EAS from 2011.

These activities not only marked changes in the quality of ASEAN’s cooperation
with its partners but also provided countries inside and outside the region with
opportunities to discuss measures to further boost bilateral and multilateral
cooperation.

Taking this opportunity, representatives of the countries along the Mekong river,
Japan and the US met and worked on moves to be taken to assist the development in
the Mekong subregion, especially regarding infrastructure, environmental and water
resources protection, and response to climate change.

Leaders of Indonesia , Malaysia and Thailand held a triangle development
conference while the UN organised its summits with Australia and New Zealand .

Noteworthy in the 17 th ASEAN Summit and related summits was the signing of
numerous cooperation documents as they created a legal foundation for ASEAN to
intensify intra-bloc connectivity and cooperation as well as its ties with other
partners.

The success of the 17 th ASEAN Summit and related summits was greatly attributed to
Vietnam ’s careful logistical preparations.

The success of the 17 th ASEAN Summit and related summits was proof of the
Vietnamese diplomatic sector’s competence in organising international standard
diplomatic events and it showed how Vietnam is dynamically, proactively and
steadily integrating into the world.-Enditem