(VOVworld) – Vietnam will be a “responsible, active, and proactive” member of the ASEAN family who strives to enhance the regional bloc’s integration and aggressively supports the ASEAN Community-building process as well as the Community’s centrality in the evolving regional architecture.
"Vietnam will be a responsible, active, and proactive member of the ASEAN family", said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Photo:vietnamnet)
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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh made the statement in his article titled “Vietnam 2015: A proactive force for peace, stability and community-building in Southeast Asia” recently published in the weekly NewEurope in Brussels. The article said that in 2015, Vietnam expects the conclusion of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, bringing the total number of its signed free trade agreements (FTA) to 12, covering more than 50 countries, among them more than 15 members of the G20. Minister Minh noted that Vietnam strongly believes that the responsibility to exercise self-restraint lies foremost with the major powers, who are best positioned and equipped to build trust and promote the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Major powers are best positioned and equipped to build trust and promote the peaceful resolution of disputes (Photo:namphuongtourist.com)
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Regarding Vietnam’s relations with the European Union (EU), Minh said the EU is one of Vietnam’s most important partners and supporters in its ongoing reform. He mentioned the EU’s great interest in a peaceful, stable, and integrated ASEAN, and said Vietnam and the other ASEAN countries share a desire to see greater European involvement in ensuring cooperation, peace, stability, and prosperity throughout East Asia.