Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn (L) meets with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 11. Photo Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Jakarta – Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn met with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn on July 11 on the sidelines of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM-56) and related meetings in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Kao appreciated Việt Nam’s contributions to the ASEAN Community and the ASEAN Secretariat.

He expressed his hope to continue receiving the country’s support for his performance of the Secretary-General’s duties, especially in contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability, and prosperity of the ASEAN Community and to the bloc’s relations with partners.

Emphasising that Vietnam attaches importance to the role of ASEAN and the Secretary-General, Minister Son voiced his belief that under Kao’s leadership, the role of the ASEAN Secretariat will be promoted continually.

Việt Nam will coordinate closely with other ASEAN members and the Secretariat in strengthening the bloc’s cooperation mechanisms and ASEAN-led ones so that ASEAN will operate in an increasingly efficient manner and adapt to the new situation, he noted.

The official also suggested the Secretariat pay more attention to boosting substantive and effective ties with partners, thus practically helping with the solidarity, unanimity, connectivity, and centrality of ASEAN.

At the meeting, the two sides shared the view that amid the fast changing international and regional situation, to continue bringing into play the role and stature of ASEAN, the Secretariat should assist in stepping up dialogue and cooperation with partners.

Son held that to maintain the bloc’s role as a growth driver of the region in the coming decades, ASEAN should build a strong economic pillar, mobilise resources from members, and capitalise on partners’ attention to and resources for the region to foster economic, investment, and tourism partnerships, thus substantively contributing to regional development and prosperity. VNS