Phnom Penh (VNA) –
55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting opens in Cambodia
Phnom Penh, Aug. 3 (VNA) — Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son attended the 55th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Wednesday (August 3).ASEAN (AMM-55) which opened in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen recalled the 55-year history of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its above-expected achievements, making Southeast Asia a region of cooperation, development and trust.
He highlighted the regional and global uncertainties caused by the multidimensional impacts of Covid-19, tensions between major countries and the crises in Myanmar and Ukraine.
Non-traditional challenges, such as climate change, natural disasters, energy security and food security, have strained ASEAN and the region as a whole, according to the prime minister.
More than ever, ASEAN must unite, promote its centrality and strive to build a cohesive, inclusive and cooperative community in the spirit of “unity in diversity”, he called.
Photo: VNA–
Under the motto “ASEAN: Facing Challenges Together”, the regional bloc is to show its commitment to overcome difficulties together, in particular by boosting post-epidemic recovery, implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and finalizing an East Sea Code of Conduct (COC) that is effective and in line with international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he said.
He called on ASEAN to strengthen coordination in responding to climate change and environmental degradation, consider establishing an ASEAN Green Deal and take full advantage of RCEP.
Shortly before the opening ceremony, Minister Bui Thanh Son and his counterparts from ASEAN countries paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen.
He also had a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Prak Sokhonn, during which the officials discussed how the two sides can coordinate to successfully organize the ‘event.
Talking about how to intensify the long-standing friendship and partnership between the two countries, they agreed to further strengthen the ties by maintaining and increasing the exchange of delegations and high-level meetings, as well as mechanisms of global cooperation. Vietnam and Cambodia aim to reach more than $10 billion in trade this year.
The two countries plan to hold various activities during the Year of Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship 2022 to mark the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations and strengthen their partnership in the fields of defence-security, agriculture, education and training, tourism and popular exchanges. – VNA
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