Socialist Republic of Vietnam

(VNA) Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended the 4th ASEAN-UN Summit, the 9th ASEAN-India Summit and the 6th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bali on Nov. 19.

At the 4 th ASEAN-UN Summit, the ASEAN leaders and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reviewed the implementation of the decisions of the previous summit, which took place in Hanoi in October 2010.
 
The ASEAN leaders spoke highly of the support of the UN and its agencies for ASEAN in building the Community, realising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), strengthening regional connectivity, narrowing the development gaps and boosting the development of subregions, especially the Mekong Subregion, improving the capacity to cope with climate change and natural disasters, reduce poverty and prevent diseases as well as boosting the reasonable and sustainable exploitation and use of water resources.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon highly valued ASEAN countries’ achievements in implementing the MDGs as well as the bloc’s important role and active contributions to peace, cooperation and development in the region.

Speaking at the event, PM Dung spoke highly of strong developments in the ASEAN-UN cooperation since the 3 rd Summit in Hanoi last year.

He affirmed support for the adoption of the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between ASEAN and the UN, and suggested the UN continue to assist ASEAN in its efforts to fulfil the MDGs by 2015 and implement the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-UN Cooperation in Disaster Management and the Strategic Action Plan on Disaster Management in the 2011-2015 period.

At the end of the summit, the two sides issued the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-UN Comprehensive Partnership with a view to expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation in various fields.

On political-security cooperation, the two sides agreed to strengthen and improve the efficiency of cooperation in building the ASEAN Community and implementing the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity; ensure peace and security in Southeast Asia and other regions; and promote democracy and human rights and expand dialogues on regional and international issues of common concern.

On economic cooperation, the joint declaration said that through agencies, foundations and programmes, the two sides will boost cooperation in effectively implementing the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration.

The two sides will focus on raising ASEAN’s capacity in responding to financial-economic crises and improving the member economies’ dynamism and sustainable growth. They will step up cooperation in addressing energy and food security issues in combination with the effective management of natural resources.

They also agreed to speed up the implementation of the MDGs in ASEAN with the close collaboration of the UN and developed countries.

On socio-cultural cooperation, the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in community building and human development, and promote human health, culture and social welfares. They will join hands in dealing with global climate change and managing natural disasters.

At the ASEAN-India Summit, ASEAN and Indian leaders appreciated the results of the implementation of the 2011-2015 Plan of Action, the 2011-2012 Working Programme, and the Goods Trading Agreement between the two sides.

The two sides agreed to build contents for upgrading their relations to a strategic partnership, speed up the negotiation for an agreement on service trading and investment, and boost cooperation in science and technology, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals as well as in non-traditional security issues such as disaster prevention, climate change, maritime security and transnational crimes.

ASEAN countries value India ’s “Look East” policy and the country’s support for ASEAN in building the Community, strengthening connectivity, and improving its central role in the region.

The two sides agreed to jointly organise activities marking the 20 th anniversary of the ASEAN-India dialogue relations in 2012.

Speaking at the summit, PM Dung suggested the two sides strengthen trade and investment ties and strive to complete a free trade area by 2012.

ASEAN and Indian should boost connectivity in transport, information technology and energy as well as promote people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in science and technology, he stated.

The Vietnamese government hailed valued India ’s initiative on setting up the ASEAN-India Network on Climate Change and applauded the launch of the ASEAN-India Green Fund to back cooperation projects in this field.

He suggested the two sides early build contents for their strategic partnership and organise activities celebrating the 20 th anniversary of ASEAN-India dialogue relations, including the organisation of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi in 2012.

At the 6 th East Asian Summit, the EAS countries welcomed the participation for the first time of the US and Russia . They agreed that in the new context, EAS continues to be a forum for the leaders to exchange opinions on issues of strategic importance relating to peace, security and development in the region, including maritime safety, response to natural disasters and prevention of pirates and transnational crimes.
 
The leaders said that EAS should continue boosting cooperation in defined areas of priority such as finance-economics, energy, and natural disasters as well as supporting the implementation of ASEAN connectivity, thus strengthening and expanding connections in the whole region.

They affirmed that EAS will continue to be an important component of the evolving regional architecture with ASEAN playing the central role. They emphasised the need to strengthen coordination and mutual support among existing regional mechanisms, including the EAS, ASEAN+3, the ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting Plus (ADMM+) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), effectively contributing to regional peace, stability and development.

The leaders stressed that the EAS should make active contributions to consolidating and strengthening an environment of peace, stability and development cooperation in the region, including maritime security and safety, on the basis of respecting international laws, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), fully implementing the Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Speaking at the event, PM Dung said that the EAS has developed dynamically and become an important and indispensable part in the East Asian cooperation and structure.

As peace, stability, security and development are common objectives and interests of all regional countries, the EAS should further promote its role in building standards and codes of conduct in the region besides bringing into full play existing tools, firstly the EAS Declaration on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations to be adopted at this summit, he said.

Dung stressed that ASEAN and EAS countries need to strengthen cooperation for peace, stability, maritime security and safety in East Asia , and solve disputes through peaceful solutions on the basis of international laws, especially the UNCLOS.

Vietnam welcomed ASEAN and China strengthening dialogues, mutual trust and understanding to speed up the implementation of the DOC towards the COC, the PM said.

At the end of the summit, the leaders adopted the EAS Declarations on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations and ASEAN Connectivity./.