The appointment of veteran diplomat Le Luong Minh to be the fifth ASEAN
general secretary has underscored Vietnam’s increasing role in building a
strong and united ASEAN.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
led a high-level delegation to Phnom Penh to attend the 21st ASEAN Summit and
related meetings during November 17-20 which will see Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs Le Luong Minh, start a five-year term, replacing Thailand’s Surin
Pitsuwan.
Born in 1952, Minh used to be
Vietnam’s Ambassador to the United Nations between January 2004 and June 2011.
He became a deputy minister of foreign affairs in December, 2008 and has
extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’
(MoFA) ASEAN Department stated that the Vietnamese delegation would join the
event under Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship with a “proactive, active and
responsible” spirit. “This will enhance Vietnam’s role and position regionally
and internationally, and further rivet the country’s bilateral ties with
partners,” said the department’s head Nguyen Tien Minh.
The 21st ASEAN Summit and related
summits are focused on boosting the construction of ASEAN Community and the
Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, expanding ASEAN’s external relations,
keeping the association’s solidarity and central role in solving issues
concerning the region’s stability.
Nguyen Tien Minh said the ASEAN
Community would be officially formed by January 1, 2015 and would gradually be
improved. At present, 70 per cent of work for establishing the community had
been completed.
“Meanwhile, the Master Plan on
ASEAN Connectivity - including connectivity in roads, sea and air routes, and
human connectivity like cultural exchanges and sports - has had 41 per cent of
work completed,” he noted.
The 21st ASEAN Summit will
feature participation by all ASEAN leaders and ASEAN’s dialogue partners
including newly re-elected US President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister
Yoshihiko Noda, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Australian Prime Minister
Julia Gillard and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
The summits include the 11th
Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council, ASEAN-21 Summit, ASEAN+1 meetings
with China, Japan, South Korea, the US and India, and ASEAN+3 meeting with
China, South Korea and Japan, and East Asia Summit which is the most important
event.
Khoi Nguyen | vir.com.vn
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