ASEAN flag raised in Vietnamese embassy
The Vietnamese embassy in Russia organised an ASEAN flag raising ceremony in Moscow on August 23 to mark the 44th anniversary of ASEAN and 16 years since Vietnam officially became a member (July 28, 1995).
ASEAN and Vietnamese flags hoisted
Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Xuan Son said that the event is one of many activities being held by ASEAN member countries and the ASEAN flag symbolises a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic community.
The ceremony helped raise public awareness of ASEAN and its proposed community based on three pillars, namely economic, socio-cultural, and political and security cooperation. It also showed the multi-faceted cooperation between ASEAN and Russia.
Earlier this year at the 44th ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting in Indonesia, ASEAN leaders reached a consensus on flying the ASEAN flag next to national flags at their diplomatic representative offices on ASEAN Day (August 8), starting in 2011.
The ASEAN community now has 10 members including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Over the past 16 years, Vietnam has actively contributed to the bloc’s activities and is now working with other ASEAN countries to complete the building the bloc’s community by 2015.