(VOVWORLD) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has suggested closer cooperation between ASEAN and its partners in trade and finance, giving priority to micro, small, and medium enterprises.
 The 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting in the Philippines, August, 2017 |
Mr. Minh attended the ASEAN+3 meeting, the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) which took place in the Philippines on Monday as part of the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting and related meetings. He asked ASEAN to continue its central role and make maritime cooperation a priority of the East Asia Summit. At the ASEAN Regional Forum, Deputy PM Minh suggested expanding dialogues and trust-building measures, and improving public awareness and the capacity for preventive diplomacy.
The ASEAN+3 Meeting approved a proposal for ASEAN+3 cooperation in the next 5 years. The ARF approved a list of activities until the end of this year, in which Vietnam will host a forum on collaboration among maritime law enforcement agencies and a forum on training for peacekeepers.
The ministers discussed ways to maintain regional peace and stability, the East Sea and Korean Peninsula situations, and new security challenges like terrorism and extreme violence. They stressed that peace and security are prerequisite conditions for boosting cooperation, development, and prosperity of all the countries in the region.
The meetings underlined the importance of maintaining peace, stability, navigation and aviation safety in the East Sea and praised the approval by ASEAN and China of the draft framework for the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).