Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung proposed several prioritiesin ASEAN-US cooperation in his speech to the ASEAN-US Special Foreign Ministers’Meeting held in Washington D.C. on May 4, the first such meeting since USPresident Donald Trump took office.

Thepriorities include developing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises,promoting innovation, digital economy and marine cooperation, people-to-peopleexchanges and responding to non-traditional security challenges such asterrorism and cyber attacks.

Dung underscoredthe need to protect Mekong River water resources and respond to climate change.

The DeputyFM said the US’s continued support for ASEAN’s central role in the regionalarchitecture is significant to regional peace, stability and connectivity.

On the EastSea issue, he expressed concern over recent developments in the East Sea andemphasised the importance of peace, stability, security, maritime safety andfreedom in the East Sea, affirming that it is of shared concern of countries inand outside the region, including the US.

Speaking atthe event, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pledged to continue the ASEAN-USConnectivity Cooperation Initiative, facilitate sustainable and equitableeconomic growth and maintain training courses for ASEAN youngsters and womensuch as the Young Southeast Asian Leaders’ Initiative and Fulbrightscholarships.

At theevent, ASEAN and the US committed to work together to counter trans-nationalchallenges such as terrorism and cyber security.

Theyexpressed concern over recent developments in the Korean Peninsula and the EastSea, and underscored the significance of peace, stability, security, maritimeand aviation safety and freedom in the East Sea.

They calledfor exercising restraint, peacefully settling disputes in line withinternational law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,diplomatic and legal process in the region, full implementation of theDeclaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and formulation of a Codeof Conduct in the East Sea.

The sameday, countries attended a round-table forum organised by the Centre forStrategic and International Studies.

At the 30th ASEAN-US Dialogue on May 3, the two sides reviewed plans for ASEAN-UScooperation, preparations for the ASEAN-US Ministerial Meeting, the fifthASEAN-US Special Summit and celebrations for the 40th anniversary ofthe ASEAN-US ties.

The US hasbecome the bloc’s fourth largest trade partner with two-way trade of 212billion USD in 2015, and the top investor with total registered capital of 274billion USD. Bilateral economic ties have generated more than 5 million jobs inthe US.-VNA