(VOVworld) – The 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) opened in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on Friday with state leaders from 53 ASEM nations and the ASEAN Secretariat attending.
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| Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Photo: VNA) |
The Vietnamese delegation was led by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc who called on ASEM countries to reform and enhance the effectiveness of partnerships towards a new level in the world, for dialogue and cooperation in the 21st century, contributing to peace, stability, security, and sustainable development in both continents and around the world.
Mr. Phuc said ASEM dialogue and affiliation should be closely linked with and directed towards sustainable development goals, especially the targets of poverty reduction, ensuring social welfare and the response to global challenges.
He said ASEM should also design specific programs and projects to speed up the operations of professional cooperation groups on education and human resources development, natural disaster response and the sustainable management of water resources.
PM Phuc said Vietnam will work hard on joint efforts to increase ASEM cooperation and foster partnerships and affiliation mechanisms among Asian-European economies through the ASEAN Community, and the existing bilateral and multilateral partnership mechanisms.
He lauded the support of ASEM members for Vietnam’s initiative on creative education and human resource building, for sustainable development in 2017, which was launched during the 11th ASEM Summit.