(VOVWORLD) -Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit and the 3rd ASEAN-Russia Summit in Singapore on Wednesday.
 Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (4th left) attends the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit (Photo: chinhphu.vn) |
As the leader of the coordinator country for the ASEAN-Japan relations, PM Phuc said that the ASEAN-Japan strategic partnership and comprehensive cooperation have progressed in all three pillars for peace, security, economy-trade-investment, and towards the people. He underlined strong commitments of ASEAN in promoting and elevating the strategic partnership and comprehensive cooperation between the grouping and Japan for peace, stability and prosperity of each side as well as the whole region.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to foster comprehensive collaboration with ASEAN and support the association’s central role as well as efforts in enhancing regional cooperation and connectivity. He stressed that ASEAN and Japan should work harder to reinforce opening, equal and law-based multilateral trade. The Japanese PM reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security, freedom and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, respecting diplomatic and legal processes, and upholding principles of international law.
On the same day, at the 3rd ASEAN-Russia Summit, the leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, science, technology, agriculture, energy, natural disaster response, healthcare, education, people-to-people exchange, and transnational crime prevention. Both sides decided to upgrade bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership.
 Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (4th left) attends the 3rd ASEAN-Russia Summit (Photo: chinhphu.vn) |
At the summit, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc voiced Vietnam’s support for the Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and Russia, which he said will contribute to practical cooperation in addressing traditional and non-traditional security challenges, which threaten security and stability in the region. He calls on Russia to support ASEAN stance and principles in ensuring peace and stability the East Sea, peacefully settling disputes on the basis of international law, and refraining from making the situation more complicated, while fully implementing the DOC towards a practical and efficient COC.