Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, July 23 (VNA) -- Prime Minister Phan Van Khai of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam delivered a key-note address at the opening ceremony of the 34th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Ha Noi this morning, July 23.

Your Royal Highnesses,
Excellencies Ministers,
Distinguished Delegates,
Dear Friends,

The final decade of the 20th century has witnessed the growth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) into an organization embracing all ten countries in the region. The shared interest in peace, stability and development of each country and the entire region have bound all Southeast Asian nations together in a greater ASEAN family, transcending their differences in socio-political systems, cultures, customs, religions and economic development levels. Years of division, prejudice and hostility are now something of the past.

Today, ASEAN is, step by step, asserting its indispensable role in the affairs of Southeast Asia, the Asia-Pacific and the world at large through an array of treaties, agreements and other actions on the basis of the principles of cooperation and dialogue governing relations among countries in the region and between ASEAN and the rest of the world, thus contributing to the consolidation of a sound and stable environment for development.

The trend of globalization and regionalization are drawing all nations and regions together into a whirlwind that can either overturn the ship of a nation or help it sail through the rough seas. Therefore, how to clearly chart the future course and take appropriate steps suitable to the particular circumstances of each country and the entire region for seizing opportunities, overcoming challenges and attaining an optimal position will be vitally important to each Member Country and ASEAN as a whole in the first decades of the 21st century.

Excellencies,

The 34th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and other Conferences this week are important political events for ASEAN in the interest of peace and development. In order to accelerate the implementation of the objectives set forth in the Hanoi Plan of Action and the ASEAN Vision 2020, I believe that it is imperative for us to make new progress in dealing with four urgent and fundamental issues:

1. Stability.

Having witnessed the ups and downs in the region in the later half of the 20th century and, most recently, the adverse consequences of the 1997-1998 financial-currency crisis, we are fully aware of the costs of socio-political and macro-economic instability that each individual country and the whole region have to pay. It suffices to say that socio-political and macro-economic stability is a prerequisite for each country