ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat concludes
(VOVworld) - ASEAN foreign ministers have agreed to make all- out efforts to implement action plans to achieve the formation of the ASEAN Community at the end of this year, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman told reporters following the closing of the ASEAN Foreign Minister Retreat in Malaysia on Wednesday. He added that ASEAN leaders will adopt a blueprint for the post-2015 ASEAN Vision during the bloc’s 27th Summit slated for this November.
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| Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman (Photo: VNA) |
The ministers reiterated their commitment to deepening cooperation with ASEAN’s dialogue partners and agreed that more discussions are needed to find ways to increase the impact of the East Asia Summit and expand ASEAN’s role in their forums.
The foreign ministers issued a statement condemning the violent and brutal acts committed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State including the recent beheading of a Japanese national, and reiterated commitments against violence through the Global Movement of Moderates.
The ministers re-affirmed the importance of maintaining peace, security and stability, enhancing mutual trust, and exercising restraint in the East Sea.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh offered Vietnam’s opinions on directions and measures to achieve the formation of the ASEAN Community by the end of this year, as well as the bloc’s post-2015 vision. Minh urged the bloc to use its role to ensure regional peace and security and push the implementation of specific measures for the full and effective observance of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), particularly Article 5 on restraining and not complicating the situation, while accelerating result-oriented negotiations towards the early formulation of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).