ASEAN ambassadors to the United Nations in Geneva.

GENEVA — Ambassador Lê Thị Tuyết Mai, Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to the UN, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organisations in Geneva, attended a quarterly meeting of the ASEAN Committee in Geneva on September 23.

Permanent Representative of Indonesia Ambassador Febrian A. Ruddyard briefed participants of the outcomes of the 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summit which were organised from September 4-7 in Jakarta by Indonesia as ASEAN Chair in 2023. The summits saw the participation of about 2,500 delegates from 10 ASEAN member states, 12 partner countries, and nine international organisations. As many as 90 documents were passed, including several important ones such as the Chairman’s Statement of the 43rd ASEAN Summit, ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on the ASEAN Human Rights Dialogue. Indonesia handed the ASEAN chairmanship in 2024 to Laos.

At the meeting, Mai and the representatives of the missions of ASEAN countries discussed and agreed on the common activities and initiatives of the bloc and shared ideas of Việt Nam and other ASEAN member states at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other multilateral forums in Geneva.

Mai also informed the participants about Việt Nam's decision to run for seats at a number of forums and proposed ASEAN member states and Timor Leste support Việt Nam's candidacy.

The participants agreed to increase coordination as well as culture, sport and culinary exchanges to enhance understanding and solidarity of the ASEAN community in Geneva, thereby helping to popularise ASEAN’s identity on the international arena. — VNS