Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of ForeignAffairs Bui Thanh Son suggested quickly spending 10.5 million USD earmarked fromthe ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund to buy vaccines while speaking at the 29th ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) Meeting on August 2.
He also proposed reviewing the implementation of theASEAN Charter, a major outcome of Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020, saying thedocument should be realised effectively to improve the operational efficiency ofthe ASEAN apparatus in the time ahead.
Stressing the significance of equal and sustainabledevelopment in ASEAN, Son urged the grouping to further support disadvantagedareas, including the Mekong Sub-region, in its efforts to narrow the increasingdevelopment gap due to COVID-19.
“This should be integrated into the Initiative forASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan IV,” he said.
Vietnam will make efforts to host the ASEAN forumon sub-regional cooperation: narrowing development gaps in sub-regions for comprehensiverecovery and sustainable development, in the fourth quarter of this year, theminister said.
The council highlighted the progress made in ASEAN Communitybuilding in all three pillars despite complex developments of COVID-19 in theregion.
The ministers affirmed their resolve to maintain thecooperation pace and approved many initiatives such as building the post-2025 ASEANCommunity Vision, coping with COVID-19 and recovering the economy, improvingthe operational efficiency of the ASEAN apparatus, raising natural disaster response capacity, and optimising opportunities presented by the Fourth IndustrialRevolution.
They pledged to closely coordinate to completepriorities and major results in 2021 and thoroughly prepare for the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits in October.
At the end of the meeting, the ministers adopted manyimportant documents, including the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the High Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community Post-2025 Vision. The council also agreed on the appointment of EkkaphabPhanthavong, a Lao national, as ASEAN Deputy Secretary General for the Socio-CulturalCommunity for 2021-2024./.
He also proposed reviewing the implementation of theASEAN Charter, a major outcome of Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020, saying thedocument should be realised effectively to improve the operational efficiency ofthe ASEAN apparatus in the time ahead.
Stressing the significance of equal and sustainabledevelopment in ASEAN, Son urged the grouping to further support disadvantagedareas, including the Mekong Sub-region, in its efforts to narrow the increasingdevelopment gap due to COVID-19.
“This should be integrated into the Initiative forASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan IV,” he said.
Vietnam will make efforts to host the ASEAN forumon sub-regional cooperation: narrowing development gaps in sub-regions for comprehensiverecovery and sustainable development, in the fourth quarter of this year, theminister said.
The council highlighted the progress made in ASEAN Communitybuilding in all three pillars despite complex developments of COVID-19 in theregion.
The ministers affirmed their resolve to maintain thecooperation pace and approved many initiatives such as building the post-2025 ASEANCommunity Vision, coping with COVID-19 and recovering the economy, improvingthe operational efficiency of the ASEAN apparatus, raising natural disaster response capacity, and optimising opportunities presented by the Fourth IndustrialRevolution.
They pledged to closely coordinate to completepriorities and major results in 2021 and thoroughly prepare for the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits in October.
At the end of the meeting, the ministers adopted manyimportant documents, including the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the High Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community Post-2025 Vision. The council also agreed on the appointment of EkkaphabPhanthavong, a Lao national, as ASEAN Deputy Secretary General for the Socio-CulturalCommunity for 2021-2024./.
VNA
