ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh (Source: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has an
important role in fostering the development of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), affirmed ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh.
Minh made the statement in an interview with
Vietnam News Agency reporters on the occasion of the bloc’s 50th founding anniversary (August 8).
He told reporters that when ASEAN was
established in 1967, it mainly focused on security-related issues.
Economics cooperation began in the 1970s,
while economic integration began in 1990 with the signing of an agreement on
the ASEAN free trade area.
Notably, in 2007, a roadmap to establish the
ASEAN Economic Community was improved. Since then, the bloc has been successful
in economic cooperation, Minh said, adding that the region is an attractive
destination for foreign investors.
Since joining ASEAN, Vietnam has stepped up
cooperation with other member states and integrated more deeply into the global
value chain.
With its participation in the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
and signing of free trade agreements with the European Union and the Eurasian
Economic Union, Vietnam can take advantage of the bloc’s collective strength,
while trade and investment between the country and the bloc will also grow
rapidly, he added.
The Secretary General also mentioned
challenges facing the bloc.
According to him, the biggest challenge is a
large development gap in the region. At present, average GDP of the richest
country is 43 times higher than that of the poorest.
Non-tariff barriers are hampering the
region’s trade development, he stated.
Also, ASEAN has an economic policy of
supporting trade liberalisation and globalisation, while some major global economies
are trending towards protectionism, he added.
He suggested Vietnamese enterprises learn
about the opportunities and challenges of the country’s integration into ASEAN to
take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the challenges.
According to him, during 2006-2016,
Vietnam’s proportion in ASEAN’s GDP doubled from 3.5 percent to 7 percent.
Investments by ASEAN member states in Vietnam also rose 120 percent.-VNA