Buenos Aires (VNA)ꦡ – The Embassy of Vietnam in Argentina chaired a ceremony to celebrate the 49 th founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) in Argentina on August 8.

Vietnam is holding the rotary chair of the ASEAN committee in Argentina, which comprises the embassies of five ASEAN member nations - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand besides Vietnam. The event was attended by more than 300 guests, including representatives from the Government and the Parliament of the south American nation and the diplomatic corps. Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Nguyen Dinh Thao briefed guests on ASEAN’s development and the bloc’s contributions to regional peace, stability, cooperation and development. The ASEAN Community, with a combined population of nearly 630 million people and GDP exceeding 2.6 trillion USD is one of the world’s most dynamic economies, Thao said. He underlined the significance of solidarity, mutual respect and support among ASEAN members, saying that those factors are the key to the bloc’s reputation. The Vietnamese diplomat reiterated ASEAN’s stance on expanding relations with international partners for peace, stability and prosperity. ASEAN wants to bolster cooperative ties with south American nations, particularly Argentina, south America’s third largest economy, Thao said. ASEAN members and Argentina have jointly implemented various initiatives to promote their bilateral and multilateral cooperation, said the Ambassador, adding that the two sides have set up inter-government cooperation mechanisms and actively participated in the Forum of East Asia – Latin America Latin Cooperation. Ambassador Thao also called on Argentina to further tap the potential in cooperation with ASEAN nations, benefiting the people of both sides and contributing to the peace, stability and prosperity of the two regions. Olga Lila Roldan Vazques from the host Foreign Ministry spoke highly of the achievements ASEAN has gained over the past year. She also welcomed stronger trade and investment exchanges between the bloc and and south American nations. In 2015, trade value between Argentina and ASEAN reached 8 billion USD.-VNA