17th ASEAN Summit and Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge – The 17^th ASEAN Summit, the last summit that Vietnam hosts as the ASEAN Chair 2010, opened in the afternoon of October 28 in Hanoi, attracting state leaders from ten Southeast Asian countries.

ASEAN leaders at the opening ceremony of the 17th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi on October 28.

Earlier, at a video conference which connected the ten ASEAN capitals with three ASEAN dialogue partners – Australia, Japan and India – ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan confirmed that ASEAN was committed to place the people at the centre of development but he also mentioned the economic gap among member states as a hindrance for the goal to establish the ASEAN community by 2015.

Earlier, at a video conference which connected the ten ASEAN capitals with three ASEAN dialogue partners – Australia, Japan and India – ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan confirmed that ASEAN was committed to place the people at the centre of development but he also mentioned the economic gap among member states as a hindrance for the goal to establish the ASEAN community by 2015.

Of ten high-ranking meetings between ASEAN and its partners that will be organized on October 28-30 in Hanoi, the most important event is the East Asia Summit (EAS), with the first presence of Russia and the US. The two countries will become EAS members next year.

The representatives of Russia and the US at the EAS 2010 will be Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This is Clinton’s second trip to Hanoi this year.

ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2010

Around 1000 Vietnamese and international delegates who are experts, officials and scholars attended the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2010 in Hanoi on October 27. They discussed the construction of the ASEAN business community as part of the goal to build up the ASEAN economic community by 2015.

At the meeting, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung vowed favourable conditions for all foreign enterprises wanting to invest in Vietnam, especially for the investors from the Southeast Asian region, in order to ensure mutual benefit. 

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

He called the summit a precious opportunity to promote co-operation and share experiences among ASEAN member states. 

The summit was also an occasion for ASEAN and its partners to improve economic efficiency and investment within the ASEAN community as well as with partner countries, he said.

Since its inception and development over the last four decades, ASEAN had become a political and economic block, a successful and dynamic economic organisation in the region, said Dung, adding that ASEAN had become an indispensable partner of many countries and major international organisations.

The commitments and core co-operative programmes of the ASEAN Economic Community had gradually been translated into reality, he said. A common market is being created on the basis of harmony in trade regulations and the ability to co-ordinate policies between ASEAN members.

This process, together with the network of the ASEAN Free Trade Area+1 with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, was expected to generate dynamism from manufacturers and producers and the free movement of goods, services, workers and capital within the regional economy. The formation of a network between ASEAN and East Asia enterprises and the promotion of labour distribution would strengthen the region's competitiveness in the world. 

A master plan on ASEAN connectivity would be adopted at this summit to help promote business and investment opportunities in the region, he said, adding he was confident that enterprises would benefit from higher efficiency of large scale production, helping reduce production costs and lower the prices of goods.

Large-scale production would create more jobs and narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, helping promote social stability, said Dung.

ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said that inner-bloc trade and investment only reach 25 and 12 percent, respectively.

ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said that inner-bloc trade and investment only reach 25 and 12 percent, respectively.

To increase internal-bloc trade and investment, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Tran Quoc Khanh said that ASEAN had completed the seventh commitment packs among ASEAN and they are about to sign the eight commitment to make closer connection among the service sector of the 10 member countries.

ASEAN cooperation in search and rescue in the sea

International delegates at the ASEAN Summit.
 

The ASEAN Declaration on Searching and Rescue in the Sea was passed at the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting on October 27 in Hanoi.

The ASEAN Declaration on Searching and Rescue in the Sea was passed at the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting on October 27 in .

Ministers also approved many important documents. They instructed the ASEAN Committee on Human Rights to compile the ASEAN Statement in Human Rights.

UN Secretary General starts Vietnam visit

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has arrived in Hanoi today, October 28, starting his official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has arrived in today, October 28, starting his official visit to at the invitation of Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has arrived in today, October 28, starting his official visit to at the invitation of Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet.

He will visit the Centre for HIV Prevention of Hanoi’s Tu Liem district and attend the third ASEAN-UN Summit on October 29.

This is Ban Ki Moon’s first visit to Vietnam since he assumed the position in 2007. The visit takes place on the occasion of the 65^th UN anniversary and Vietnam’s 33^rd UN membership.

October 28: The chiefs of state of ASEAN countries, UN General Secretary, the Chinese Prime Minister arrived inVietnam. The ASEAN Summit and the Development Triangle Summit (Indonesia – Malaysia – Thailand) opened the same day.

October 29: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will go to Hanoi. The summits between ASEAN and each partner –Japan, China, South Korea, the UN and the Mekong-Japan Summit will be held.

October 30: The summits between ASEAN and each partner – India, Russia, Australia, New Zealand; the East Asia Summit; and the closing ceremony of 17^th ASEAN Summit. 

The 17th ASEAN Summit and other related meetings from October 28-30 is highly significant for the on-going process of building an ASEAN community by 2015. The three-day event will see 11 major meetings, including the 17th ASEAN Summit, the regular ASEAN+1 Summit with partners, such as including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and India, as well as with Russia, Australia, New Zealand and the United Nations; the ASEAN+3 Summit (with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea), and the fifth East Asia Summit. The summit will be attended by 18 leaders of ASEAN member countries and the bloc’s partners plus the United Nations Secretary General. For the first time, the Russian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State will also attend the East Asia Summit as special guests. At these summits, ASEAN and its partners will discuss ways of developing each country for the sake of peace and stability in the region and the world. ASEAN 17- the last ASEAN summit in 2010, will build on previous achievements and the theme of ‘Toward an ASEAN community – from vision to action’. ASEAN leaders will discuss measures to accelerate the creation of an ASEAN community, strengthen regional connections and implement the ASEAN Charter. The summit will discuss how to cement ties between ASEAN and its partners. It will also discuss and work out measures to raise the bloc’s capacity to cope with emerging challenges such as post-economic crisis recovery, sustainable development, climate change, natural disasters, epidemics, and environmental degradation. At other related meetings, they will discuss practical measures to maintain the ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3 and the East Asia Summit (EAS) in which ASEAN plays a central role. Especially, at the EAS summit as ASEAN leaders will officially invite Russia and the US to take part from 2011. More than 30 documents and important declarations will be adopted at the 17th ASEAN Summit, namely a declaration on developing human resources, measures for economic recovery, sustainable development, the Hanoi declaration on improving social welfare and developing women and children, the ASEAN-China declaration on sustainable development and the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Strategic Partnership Action Programme. As Chair of ASEAN and host of ASEAN summits, Vietnam has finalised all preparations for this major event.Vietnam has proposed several initiatives related to economic development and human resources in the region, which were praised by ASEAN member countries. The 17th Summit will be attended by senior ASEAN leaders and also Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior leaders from partner countries. This shows that the 17th ASEAN Summit is an important forum, which has a far-reaching effect in the region. It is also the international community’s appreciation of the active role played by Vietnam in the region. It provides a firm foundation for ASEAN and its partners to have confidence in the 17th Summit, thus accelerating the formation of an ASEAN community by 2015. For Vietnam, a good outcome from this event is an indication of its success as Chair of ASEAN in 2010. For ASEAN, the 17th ASEAN Summit and the related meetings will lay an important foundation for a dynamic and sustainable ASEAN community.