On the occasion of the conclusion of Vietnam's ASEAN Chairmanship 2010, PM Nguyen Tan Dung on December 31 sent his message to leaders and people of ASEAN member states, ASEAN's partners, and friends around the world.
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PM Nguyen Tan Dung: Vietnam has successfully fulfilled the ASEAN Chairmanship 2010 with the set goals attained, leaving an impressive Vietnamese imprint on the substantive aspect as well as the management and organization of ASEAN’s events throughout the year
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Comrades and Compatriots,
On December 31st, 2010, Vietnam formally concludes its one-year rotational Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). We are proud and glad that Vietnam has successfully fulfilled this role with the set goals attained, leaving an impressive Vietnamese imprint on the substantive aspect as well as the management and organisation of ASEAN’s events throughout the year. The success of the ASEAN Chairmanship year has been reflected in the important outcomes of long-lasting significance that serve both the interests of ASEAN and the region in general and Vietnam in particular.
To ASEAN, the determination and joint efforts of Member Countries to pursue thetheme of "Towards an ASEAN Community: From Vision to Action" have brought about substantive changes, thus, pushing an important step forward in concretising the goal of building an ASEAN Community by 2015. ASEAN integration has turned more substantive and practical with remarkable progresses recorded in the implementation of the ASEAN Charter and the realisation of the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community in all three pillars, i.e the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Social-Cultural Community, as well as in carrying out other important plans and programs, in particular, on ASEAN Connectivity.
ASEAN’s external relations and its centrality in the region continue to be strengthened and elevated, which have been clearly manifested in the new and meaningful developments in ASEAN-driven regional cooperation frameworks such as the ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) or the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+). The Association has also made important contributions to other international fora like APEC, ASEM, G20 and the UN. External partners are attaching increasing importance to their relations with ASEAN, expressing their active support to ASEAN’s centrality in the region, while promoting multi-faceted cooperation with ASEAN through stronger commitments to support ASEAN in various forms, including financial assistance.
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Leaders of ASEAN member states at the opening ceremony of 17th ASEAN Summit, Ha Noi, October 28, 2010
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In East Asia, an environment of peace, security, cooperation and development has been further consolidated and enhanced. By bringing into full play those mechanisms and tools that help ensure regional peace and security, ASEAN has substantively promoted the attainment of positive developments in efforts to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, confidence building and sharing of norms on conduct in political-security matters, including complicated issues like the East Sea or the Korean Peninsular etc. Cooperation for sustainable development and effective response to global challenges, including climate change and disaster management or the Mekong Sub-regional cooperation have also seen significant developments, both within ASEAN as well as between ASEAN and its external partners, through the frameworks of ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3 and EAS.
For Vietnam, we have realized, to the highest extent, the set goals, which include enhancing ASEAN unity and cooperation, promoting a conducive regional environment for national security and development, and elevating the country’s international role and prestige. In a "positive, active and responsible" manner, we have successfully discharged our task as the Chair of ASEAN, having proposed the right themes and priorities for ASEAN, putting forward many valued initiatives and appropriate measures, finalizing the drafting of many important documents, chairing and managing smoothly a series of consecutive ASEAN events, having well coordinated ASEAN consensus for many important decisions and properly handled many important decisions of ASEAN, as well as several complicated issues.
Leaders and delegates to ASEAN meetings, as well as the world and domestic public have voiced their high appreciation of Vietnam’s skills and tactfulness in the organization, chairing and leading ASEAN meetings and events. We have taken the opportunity of the presence of world leaders participating in ASEAN events in Vietnam to arrange bilateral talks and meetings, with many important agreements reached that help to bring our bilateral relations with these countries to a more comprehensive and substantive level. We have also maximized the chance to present to leaders and delegates from various countries as well as the international media on the Vietnamese country, people, history, culture and potential for development.
The fine outcomes of the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2010 in particular and the 15 years of Vietnam’s participation in ASEAN in general have once again affirmed the strategic importance and the long-term interests of our membership in ASEAN, which remains an important component of our external policy of independence, sovereignty, multi-lateralization and diversification of foreign relations, proactive regional and international integration. The enormous efforts and important contributions that Vietnam has made to ASEAN again demonstrated our consistent policy to attach importance to ASEAN, both in term of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the Association and its members. We will always do our best for a strong, united and increasingly integrated ASEAN.
The success of our ASEAN Chairmanship Year of 2010 signifies another outstanding development and a higher degree of maturity of the country in the course of regional and international integration. Valuable lessons and experiences can be drawn henceforth, i.e the timely and wishful guidance from the Party and State Leaders; the close coordination among the relevant ministries, central and local agencies; and the responsible and devoted efforts of those who directly, the full comprehension and skilful implementation of those guiding principles in the Party’s and State’s foreign policy, especially in multilateral diplomacy. I wish to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation and commendations of the tremendous efforts by all ministries, agencies, localities in the National Committee on ASEAN 2010 and those directly involved in the ASEAN activities of the year.
As the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2010 has now come to an end and at the threshold of the new year 2011, on behalf of the Government and people of Vietnam, I wish to convey our most sincere appreciation to the Governments and people of ASEAN member countries and ASEAN’s partners for the valued support and assistance rendered to Vietnam in our capacity as the Chair of ASEAN throughout the year. May I wish Indonesia, the incoming Chair of ASEAN in 2011, every success in driving the Association to new successes in our joint efforts toward realising the common goal of building an ASEAN Community by 2015.
Wishing ASEAN another successful year ahead.
Finally, my very best wishes for the good health and happiness of our comrades, compatriots and all of you in 2011.
Thank you very much./.