A Vietnamese Government delegation led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung left Hanoi on January 12 for Cebu, the Philippines, to attend the 12th ASEAN summit and related meetings at the invitation of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Mr Dung is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen and other senior government officials.
Under the theme “One Caring and Sharing Community”, the summit and related meetings will discuss ASEAN's external relations and measures to boost cooperation between ASEAN and other partners, as well as exchanging views on regional and international issues of mutual concern.
ASEAN leaders are expected to sign and approve documents, including the Cebu Declaration towards One Caring and Sharing Community, a statement on building an ASEAN Community by 2015 and a statement on ASEAN Charter.
Vietnam makes great contributions to ASEAN development
Vietnam has actively participated in all areas of cooperation and made great contributions to the development of ASEAN since it became an official member of the grouping on July 28, 1995.
The statement was made by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem while accessing Vietnam's ten-year membership on the eve of the 12th ASEAN Summit. He said the accession over the past 10 years has helped Vietnam efficiently implement its foreign policy of sovereignty, self-reliance, diversification, multilateralisation, and regional and international integration, as well as promoting peace, stability and cooperation for development in the region.
Bilateral and multilateral cooperation with other ASEAN member countries and dialogue partners has helped accelerate the country’s national construction, strengthen its defence policy and improve its position in the region and the world.
Vietnam has boosted ASEAN’s diplomatic ties and international cooperation, including the grouping’s partnership with China, Russia and India, and successfully organised major forums such as the Asia-Europe Meeting and the 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
Vietnam's active participation in ASEAN's economic cooperation has helped the country realise its important goals of establishing a potential market and promoting import-export activities. Two-way trade between Vietnam and ASEAN has increased by 15.8 percent annually in the 1996-2003 period. Notably, the country's exports to ASEAN have increased sharply, accounting for 14.3 percent of its total export value in 2004. Its main markets are Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, which are also big foreign direct investors in Vietnam.
As an active member, Vietnam joined ASEAN member countries in negotiating the establishment of Free Trade Areas with China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Vietnam was assigned as ASEAN's coordinator in economic cooperation with the European Union and development cooperation with Australia.
Vietnam has participated in hundreds of ASEAN's cooperation projects in various areas, including food, meteorology, information technology, materials production, biology and non-traditional energy. In the area of environment, Vietnam has made remarkable efforts in increasing financial and human resources in order to ensure equal and efficient cooperation with other member countries. The country has also proposed some cooperation projects of which an initiative to hold dialogues on implementation of the ASEAN agreement on forest fire prevention received a warm response from member countries.
Vietnam has fully participated in cultural activities and projects launched by ASEAN members. Hundreds of Vietnamese delegations have visited ASEAN countries to share experiences and boost cultural exchange.
The country has also maintained strong and effective tourism cooperation with ASEAN countries. Over recent years, the number of ASEAN visitors to Vietnam has increased sharply, up nearly 200 percent against the 1999-2004 period. They mostly came from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. ASEAN is currently the biggest foreign investor in tourism in Vietnam, making up 31 percent of the total US$6 billion foreign investment in the sector.
Progress has also been made in social development cooperation, particularly in the areas of education, natural calamity prevention and mitigation, AIDS control, health-nutrition, rural development and poverty reduction.
