Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, July 23 (VNA) -- Viet Nam has actively joined activities of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since it became a full member of the assocation six years ago.

* From Active Participation
The country's participation in the regional grouping has contributed to ensuring the latter's fundamental principles, preserving and bringing into play solidarity, stability and development within ASEAN as well as between it and the rest of the world, and unceasingly raising ASEAN's position in the international arena.

Joining the family of ASEAN, which also groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, Viet Nam has integrated itself into the region and the world, making use of external support for national construction and defence.

Viet Nam became the seventh member of the association in July 1995 as an inevitable result of a sharing aspiration between ASEAN and the country. ASEAN is striving for peace, stability and development cooperation while Viet Nam advocates making full use of favourable international conditions and peaceful and stable environment to build and safeguard the Fatherland toward the goal of "a prosperous people, a strong country, an equitable, democratic and civilized society".

Viet Nam's becoming part of ASEAN has not only benefited the common regional trend of peace and cooperation but also supported the exercise of its foreign policy of independence, self-determination, diversification and further expansion of friendly and cooperative ties with other countries in the world in the spirit of "Viet Nam wishes to befriend all nations in the world community, striving for peace, independence and development".

The admittance of Viet Nam to the regional groups was viewed as the opening of the process to realize the idea of an ASEAN embracing all 10 countries in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, joining ASEAN was an entrance ticket for Viet Nam to access a huge and dynamic market with about 500 million consumers. Combined gross domestic product (GDP) of the ten ASEAN members totals approximately USD 700 billion.

* To Key Player of ASEAN
The success of the sixth ASEAN Summit in Ha Noi in December 1998 affirmed the role of the host, Viet Nam, in the regional and international arena. The Summit passed the Ha Noi Plan of Action to realize the 2020 Vision, thus strengthening regional solidarity and cooperation on the basis of fundamental principles of the association, particulary the principles of respect for national independence, sovereignty, non-interference into internal affairs of each other, commonly beneficial cooperation and consensus.

The Ha Noi Plan of Action is a common development strategy for the region in the 1999-2004 period with special priority given to promotion of financial-economic development on the macro-scale, enhancement of scientific-technological and personnel development and maintenance of regional peace and security. These were the concretization of the goals defined in the ASEAN 2020 Vision.

Ha Noi also witnessed the admittance of Cambodia to ASEAN, fulfilling the long-cherished idea of an ASEAN comprising all 10 Southeast Asian countries, of Southeast Asia, by Southeast Asia and for Southeast Asia. The formation of ASEAN-10, for the first time in history, was an event of important significance of the regional grouping, creating a Southeast Asia of unity, cooperation, peace, solidarity and mutual trust. The expansion of the association gives opportunities to economic development of each member country as well as the whole ASEAN with closer economic cooperation and more effective mutual assistance.

Viet Nam officially took the role of Chairman of the ASEAN Standing Committee, ASC, and the ASEAN Regional Forum, ARF, in July, 2000. The country on behalf of the association, has coordinated ASEAN's political-security, functional cooperation and external relation activities.

In the position of ASC Chairman, Viet Nam proposed operational orientation for the association in the 2000-01 period, namely bridging the development gap among the association's members. The proposal was accepted and positively responded to by other members.

Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien carried out a number of regional tasks while attending the 55th session of the United Nations General Assembly. He successfully chaired a meeting between ASEAN Foreign Ministers and other ASEAN important activities in New York in September of last year.

Viet Nam has successfully organized ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting, ASEAN-SOM, ASC meeting, ARF-SOM during its Presidency term. The country also proposed a number of initiatives to raise operational efficiency and promote the role of the association. Among the initiatives were the establishment of a hot-line network among ASEAN members' leaders, the reform of ASEAN working style, the convening of an annual meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers in New York, and the organisation of ASEAN Culture Weeks and Southeast Asia Tourism Fairs.

This July, Ha Noi is once again witnessing important regional diplomatic activities. Twenty-two ASEAN meetings at various levels and a number of sideline activities are to be held in Ha Noi on this occasion. The capital of Viet Nam will host a Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Conference at ministerial level also in July this year.--VNA