ASEAN, India senior officials discuss maritime cooperation
(VOVWORLD) - ASEAN nations believe India will soon control its COVID-19 epidemic and affirm their willingness to stand side by side with India during this difficult time, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung said at the the 23rd ASEAN-India Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) via videoconference on Wednesday.
 Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA) |
Speaking for the ASEAN countries, Mr. Dung stressed the importance of maritime cooperation to security, economic growth, sustainable development, and the welfare of people in the region. He said ASEAN and India should closely coordinate within regional frameworks to promote dialogue, cooperation, trust building, and respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and support efforts to build and uphold codes of conduct such as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and Code of Conduct in the East Sea.
The Deputy Foreign Minister said he hopes India will help ASEAN improve its technical capacity in maritime security and the effectiveness of maritime cooperation mechanisms and frameworks in the region.