Illustrative image (Source: asean2019.go.th) Bangkok (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung,who is head of Vietnam’s ASEAN SOM, attended the ASEAN Senior Officials’Meeting (SOM) held in Chiang Rai, Thailand, from March 6-8.
Participating senior officials discussed cooperation measures inpreparation for upcoming events, and exchanged notes on issues of mutualconcern.
To speed up the building of the ASEAN Community, they agreed on the needfor the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to successfullyimplement priorities and tasks set for 2019 towards being a sustainable community,with people being put in the centre and no one left behind.
The officials deliberated orientations to build a draft ASEAN VisionStatement on Partnership for Sustainability, which is expected to be approvedby leaders of the ASEAN nations in June 2019.
At the meeting, a plan to form a network connecting associations andorganisations on ASEAN of the member states was also tabled. Once established,the network will be tasked with linking these associations and organisations tocarry out activities to raise public awareness of the bloc.
Regarding maritime cooperation, the delegates agreed to reviewfunctions, missions and operations to raise the efficiency of the ASEANMaritime Forum (AMF) and the Expanded AMF (EAMF).
They also reviewed preparations for several upcoming events, includingthe ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meetings with China, New Zealand, Canada, the US,Australia and Japan.
For Japan, an ASEAN-Japan Day is scheduled to take place this year in Vietnam– the coordinator of the ASEAN-Japan relations, with numerous seminars, andcultural and sport exchange activities.
For China, the meeting acknowledged progress in negotiations on a Code ofConduct in the East Sea (COC), creating favourable conditions for the two sidesto conclude the first round of talks before the ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’Meeting in August 2019.
The participants also discussed the organisation of CommemorativeSummits to mark 30 years of the ASEAN-Republic of Korea partnership in 2019,and 45 years of the ASEAN-New Zealand partnership in 2020, while consideringproposals of several nations on partnering with ASEAN.
Regarding Timor Leste’s proposal of joining ASEAN, they said that boththe grouping and Timor Lester should make thorough preparations. At first, anASEAN delegation will pay a fact-finding tour to Timor Leste to evaluate itscapacity and demand.
On this occasion, the host Thailand also held an ASEAN SOM Retreat on Indo– Pacific cooperation. Delegates agreed that ASEAN should play a central role,and bring into full play mechanisms and forums set up and led by the bloc topromote collaboration and dialogue towards building an Indo-Pacific region ofpeace, cooperation, development and prosperity.-VNA
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