(VOVWORLD) - Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Igor Driesmans, said on Saturday that Vietnam has overcome ‘unprecedented’ challenges to successfully organize the 36th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi.
 EU Ambassador to ASEAN Igor Driesmans (Photo: VNA) |
Driesmans said that despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first official summit hosted by Vietnam as the ASEAN Chair 2020 has achieved some important results. ASEAN leaders pursued an ambitious regional integration agenda, with the adoption of the “ASEAN Leaders’ Vision Statement on a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN: Rising above Challenges and Sustaining Growth.”
He said with this adopted document, ASEAN leaders reaffirmed their commitment to pursue progress in many areas, further promoting the ASEAN Community Vision 2025. In particular, the Statement underlines the need to effectively respond to COVID-19 and promote socio-economic recovery in the region.
Ambassador Driesmans said that ASEAN has achieved all these important results in the spirit of the summit’s theme For A Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN during Vietnam’s Chairmanship Year.
He affirmed that the EU will continue to support ASEAN's efforts to build a prosperous, safe and united community for mutual benefit. He noted the EU and ASEAN are among the first partners to hold a Foreign Ministers Meeting on COVID-19, and the two sides will continue to exchange information to identify ways to deal with the crisis.
The EU considers ASEAN an indispensable partner. Working together, both can maintain the order based on international law and uphold global common values, affirmed the ambassador.