ASEAN dialogue partners pledged to continue supporting the association’s
building of a community by 2015 and its central role at ASEAN+1
Ministerial Meetings in Brunei on July 1.
At the meetings,
the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and its dialogue partners, namely
Australia , India , the Republic of Korea (RoK), Russia,
the US, Canada, New Zealand and the EU reviewed their
cooperation and relations, proposed cooperation orientations, discussed
issues of mutual concern and the preparation of summits between ASE AN
and some dialogue partners at the end of the year.
They
spoke positively of the development of mutually beneficial cooperation
between ASEAN and the dialogue partners, and its contribution to
promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
The parties agreed to strengthen cooperation through the effective
implementation of existing joint action plans between the bloc and each
dialogue partner, focusing on economics, trade, investment, narrowing
the development gap, disaster management, cultural and educational
exchanges and tourism.
The dialogue partners that
participate in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
negotiations pledged to collaborate with ASEAN to complete the agreement
by 2015.
At the ASEAN-Australia Ministerial Meeting, the
ministers spoke highly of their achievements and agreed to jointly
organise the Commemorative Summit to mark the 40th year of
ASEAN-Australia dialogue partnership in 2014.
The bloc
also welcomed the plan to set up an Australian permanent mission in
ASEAN to strengthen cooperation and collaboration.
At the
ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting, the two sides agreed to boost the
implementation of the Vision Statement adopted at the ASEAN-India
Commemorative Summit in New Delhi last December.
They reached a consensus on the completion of technical matters for
the signing of the ASEAN-India Trade and Investment Agreement in
Brunei in August with a target of 100 billion USD in two-way trade by
2015.
The association welcomed India ’s “Look East”
policy, its support to the group in building the ASEAN community and
strengthening ASEAN’s central role in the regional architecture.
Meanwhile,
ASEAN and the RoK agreed to strengthen cooperation by effectively
implementing the ASEAN-RoK action plan for the 2011-2015 period,
attempting to increase bilateral trade from 125 billion USD in 2011 to
150 billion USD in 2015.
The two sides pledged to work
together to organise activities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of
their dialogue partnership.
At the ASEAN-Russia Ministerial
Meeting, the two sides applauded their achievements in implementing
their strategic partnership, and the successful organisation of the
ASEAN-Russia Business Forum on June 22 in Saint Petersburg to foster
ties between businesses.
They affirmed to continue
to enhance their cooperation in security-politics, economics, trade,
culture, society, energy, disaster management, tourism and supporting
ASEAN connectivity.
ASEAN spoke highly of the US ’ commitments to the region at a ministerial meeting with the country on the same day.
The two sides stressed the need to intensify cooperation for peace,
security and development in the region, cooperation in economics, trade,
investment, education and climate change as well as sustainable use of
water in the Mekong Sub-region.
They welcomed ASEAN
Economic Ministers’ trip to the US to promote the group, agreed to
further implement the 2011-2015 action plan, the 2013 Trade and
Investment Framework Agreement, the ASEAN-US Energy Cooperation Work
Plan for 2012-2014 and the Expanded Economic Engagement initiative.
At the ASEAN-Canada Ministerial Meeting, the two sides praised the
establishment and the role of the ASEAN-Canada Council in promoting
their cooperation. Canada pledged to continue supporting ASEAN in
raising the capacity of the ASEAN Secretariat and training in financial
services and the English language.
At the ASEAN-New
Zealand meeting, the ministers agreed to boost cooperation in economics,
education, food and disaster management. The bloc applauded the
ASEAN-New Zealand Scholarship Programme, the ASEAN Young Business
Leaders’ Initiative, the Disaster Risk Management and the Agricultural
Diplomacy programmes. The two sides also reached a consensus on the
coordination to successfully organise a commemorative summit to mark the
40 th anniversary of the ASEAN-New Zealand relations in 2014.
At all the meetings, ministers also exchanged views on regional and
international issues of mutual concern, including the East Sea
issue.
The countries highlighted the importance of
maintaining peace, security and stability in the region and in the
East Sea , as well as the full and effective implementation of the
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the
ASEAN-China Joint Statement on the 10th anniversary of the DOC.
They affirmed the necessity to promptly establish a Code of Conduct in
the East Sea (COC) and expressed their hope that ASEAN and China
maintain consultations on official COC negotiations.
Speaking at the meetings, Vietnam ’s Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh
highly valued the positive and important progress in the relationship
between the grouping and its partners. He underlined the importance of
strengthening ties in fields of mutual benefit like economics,
investment, trade, human resources development, information technology,
science-technology, as well as dealing with arising challenges and
non-traditional security issues.
The minister called
for the partners’ contributions to ASEAN’s key goals, such as building
the ASEAN Community by 2015, implementing regional links and
connectivity, narrowing the development gap, and developing its
sub-regions, as well as their continued support for the grouping’s core
role in such regional mechanisms as ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, East Asia Summit
(EAS), ASE AN Regional Forum (ARF), and ASE AN Defence Ministers’
Meeting Plus (ADMM+).
The same day, FM Minh and
Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, co-chaired the ASEAN-EU Ministerial
Meeting.
Both sides appreciated the achievements
gained over the past years and agreed to work with each other to fully
implement an action plan for the 2013-17 period and the ASEAN-EU Trade
and Investment Work Programme.
ASEAN praised the
union’s effective contributions to regional links through the 2011-2013
Multi-Annual Indicative Programme (MIP), ASEAN Regional Integration
Support from the EU (ARISE) and the ASE AN-EU Regional Dialogue
Instrument (READI).
The two sides acknowledged the
progress in negotiations on the free trade agreements (FTAs) between the
union and some ASEAN member countries, considering it a foundation for
FTAs between the two regions.
FM Minh affirmed
Vietnam will make every effort to coordinate with other countries to
lift the ASEAN-EU relationship to a new height and strengthen
cooperation for peace, stability and common development.
Both ASEAN and the EU highly valued Vietnam’s role as the
coordinator in the ASEAN-EU relationship, and committed to help
Vietnam fulfil its role in the 2012-2015 period.
During the meeting, the Vietnamese FM also affirmed strong support for
ASE AN’s stance and regulations on the East Sea, including the
principles of restraint, solving all disputes by peaceful means and
respecting international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
He also underlined the
necessity of the Code of Conduct to ensure peace, stability, maritime
security and safety in the East Sea.-VNA