Vientiane (VNA) – Since joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)28 years ago, Vietnam has shown itself as an active, proactive, and responsiblemember of the bloc, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos ThongphaneSavanphet.

Talkingto the Vietnam News Agency, he said Vietnam’s entry into ASEAN and its activitieswithin the bloc’s cooperation framework over the past 28 years have reflectedthe success of the country’s Doi moi (Renewal) and its foreign policy inreinforcing and developing cooperation with all countries in the world,including Southeast Asia. They have also demonstrated Vietnam’s growing staturein the regional and international arenas.

Vietnam’sengagement in ASEAN activities has helped not only attract external resourcesto be combined with the internal strength to serve national development andsafeguarding, but also substantially contribute to the protection and promotionof peace, stability, cooperation, and development of the bloc, he went on.

The Laoofficial elaborated that over the past 28 years, Vietnam has made importantcontributions to common work of ASEAN and obtained outstanding achievements inmany aspects, including the building of the ASEAN Charter, the ASEAN Vision2020, the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity2025, and the ASEAN Regional Forum Hanoi Plan of Action; post-pandemic economicrecovery; the ASEAN Strategic Framework for Public Health Emergencies; theInitiative for ASEAN Integration; and its chairmanship of ASEAN in 1998, 2010,and 2020.

AsASEAN Chair thrice, Vietnam proposed many initiatives and documents whichbecame important stepping stones for intra-bloc cooperation, the building ofthe ASEAN Community, and the bloc’s cooperation with external partners.

Underthe chairmanship of Vietnam in 2020, when the regional and the world were hithard by the COVID-19 pandemic, ASEAN held online meetings during which its membersbuilt cooperation plans and other solutions to promote the three pillars of theASEAN Community; cooperation with external partners to cope with the pandemicand its adverse impacts; and continue building a stronger Community and enhancingthe bloc’s solidarity and centrality in an evolving regional architecture,thereby contributing to the realisation of the grouping’s common targets andregional and global peace, stability, and sustainable development, according to the Lao official.

He perceivedthat Vietnam’s membership of ASEAN since July 28, 1995, is also a contributor tothe country’s socio-economic development, helping the economy boost foreigninvestment and trade, create jobs, and record continuous growth.

Besides, the ASEAN membership of Vietnam also provided animpetus for Laos to join the bloc two years later, the Deputy Foreign Ministersaid, noting that after engaging in ASEAN, on the basis of their greatfriendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation, the two countrieshave continued fostering traditional cooperation and mutual assistance.

He highlightedthe countries’ traditional coordination and exchange of opinions within theASEAN framework, and that Vietnam has supported Laos’s chairmanship of thegrouping in two previous terms as well as preparations for the third time hiscountry will serve in this role in 2024.

The official stressed the close cooperation and mutual assistance betweenVietnam and Laos in ASEAN have significantly contributed to their great friendship,special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation.

He voiced his beliefthat they will keep strengthening these special ties in a more substantive andeffective manner for the sake of the two peoples and for regional and globalpeace and development./.