Vietnam vows to work for ASEAN-EU partnership
Thanh Nien Daily, Vietnam
Vietnam vows to work for ASEAN-EU partnership
23 November 2007
Vietnam will work hard for the development of the ASEAN-EU partnership, particularly their Free Trade Agreement that is now under negotiations, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem has promised.
Speaking at a summit to mark the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-EU relations in Singapore yesterday, he said Vietnam and the EU would soon start negotiations on the landmark Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
Khiem, who is also the Foreign Minister highlighted the important achievements of the ASEAN-EU dialogue relations and Vietnam’s growing bilateral relations with the EU and its member-countries.
At the summit, the first of its kind since the ASEAN and the EU established a dialogue in 1977, ASEAN leaders hailed the EU and its member countries for joining the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
They said the treaty was an important factor in Southeast Asia’s peace and security.
EU leaders congratulated the ASEAN members on the signing of the ASEAN Charter, describing the event as an important factor in boosting cooperation and building the community.
They expressed willingness to share their experience and intensify cooperation and assistance to ASEAN.
The summit ended with a joint statement and an action plan to implement the Nuremberg Declaration on Enhanced ASEAN-EU Partnership.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his delegation returned to Hanoi at the conclusion of a five-day trip to Singapore for the 13th ASEAN Summit and related meetings.
