Jakarta (VNA) – Vietnam activelycontributed to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2018,which will serve as the foundation for the country to perform the ASEAN Chairmanshipin 2020, said Ambassador Tran Duc Binh, Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to ASEAN.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, the ambassador reviewedVietnam’s marked contributions to the ten-member group last year, citing theorganisation of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Hanoi in September.

At the forum, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other ASEAN leaders outlinedorientations to spur regional economy, help enterprises optimise advantages ofthe fourth Industrial Revolution and create a favourable investment environmentin the bloc, he said, noting that the PM’s initiatives raised at the eventreceived applause of other leaders.

In 2018, Vietnam worked as the ASEAN Coordinator for the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations in the sphere of investment, andpartnered with relevant countries to build a commitment package that aims tolay a foundation for the conclusion of the talks slated for 2019, Binh added.

He said PM Phuc and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi successfully co-chaireda high-level meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-Indiarelationship in New Delhi, which has been seen as a step forward to promotingthe bilateral ties.

Vietnam also outstandingly performed its role as the coordinator of theASEAN-India relations between August 2015 and August 2018, and is assuming themission in the ASEAN-Japan relations from August 2018 to August 2021.
The country has prioritised theimplementation of the master plan on ASEAN connectivity and proposed projectsattractive to financial institutions as well as the private sector, theambassador stressed.

Regarding ASEAN’s performance in the year, Binh said despite the complexregional and global situations, the bloc remained a spotlight of cooperation,with cooperative activities covering the three areas of politics-security,economy and culture-society.

ASEAN has maintained a peaceful and stable environment that is favourable foreconomic development and connectivity, as well as community building.

The most noteworthy result lies with the establishment of a network of smartcities with the participation of 26 cities of the ASEAN member countries,including Vietnam’s Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, to deal with urbanchallenges to improve the living conditions of people.

Apart from economic achievements, ASEAN has made progress in consolidating itsrelations with other countries like China, Japan and India, the ambassadorsaid, adding that the group has elevated its relationship with Russia to a strategicpartnership, raising its strategic partners to eight.

ASEAN and China also agreed on a “single draft” negotiating text of a Code ofConduct (COC) in the East Sea, thus facilitating their negotiations in the timeahead.

In 2018, ASEAN set the target of continuing to push ahead with theimplementation of commitments to building the ASEAN Economic Community in 2025,enhancing regional economic connectivity and creating optimal conditions forbusinesses.

To that end, up to 23 specialised working plans and 80 out of the 118 prioritieswere carried out in the year, according to the ambassador.

As a result, the bloc’s GDP grew about 5.1 percent in 2018 and is expected tobe maintained in the years to come, the ambassador said, noting that thegrouping has employed measures to facilitate trade and investment, aiming todouble intra-bloc trade by 2030.

Besides, ASEAN has actively realised free trade commitments with such partnersas China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and India, Binh said.-VNA