Vietnamese honourary guards carry out the flag hoisting ceremony. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — An ASEAN flag hoisting ceremony was held in Hà Nội on Friday morning to mark the 53rd founding anniversary of the association (August 3, 1967) and 25 years of Việt Nam’s ASEAN membership (July 28, 1995).
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh chaired the event, which also drew ambassadors of ASEAN member countries and ministry leaders.
Addressing the ceremony, Minh underlined how over the past 53 years, ASEAN has made huge strides forward. By embracing 10 member nations, ASEAN has turned Southeast Asia from a land of discord to a land of concord, from confrontation to cooperation, and from poverty to dynamic development, he said.
He noted that through its community building, ASEAN enables Southeast Asia to thrive as a big family of six hundred and fifty million people with a combined GDP of US$3 trillion and as a peaceful, stable and resilient region with dynamic, vibrant economies.

Honorary guards preparing for the ceremony. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

The Vietnamese Deputy PM said the association is facing major, unprecedented challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fast changing geo-strategic landscape as well as emerging non-traditional security issues.
“But these are causes to be discouraged. Instead, these call for a more cohesive, responsive ASEAN, which retains its firm centrality in the region,” he said.

“The encouraging results achieved in the first half of 2020 bear testament to the fact ASEAN never wavers from any hardship.”

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh (centre) leads delegation attending the ceremony. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

According to Minh, chairing ASEAN this year is a great honour for Việt Nam as 2020 coincides with the 25th anniversary of the country accession to ASEAN.
Under Việt Nam’s Chairmanship, ASEAN has taken well-coordinated measures to collectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, protect the health of our people, cushion the negative impacts on our economies and prepare for a comprehensive recovery to emerge from the pandemic, he said.
“Although the tough battles to defeat the pandemic and to revamp the economies are still ahead, I would like to emphasise that ASEAN’s future is bright,” he underlined.
With the “Think Community, Act Community” approach, Việt Nam will continue to work closely with ASEAN sisters and brothers as well as with external partners and the international community to build a united and resilient ASEAN Community.
“Shoulder to shoulder, we can rise above any challenges and move ASEAN forward,” Minh added.
He revealed that ASEAN Foreign Ministers will issue a Statement on the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Southeast Asian on the ASEAN Day of August 8, 2020.
In the context of complex and growing uncertainties in the world, this statement will reaffirm ASEAN’s vision, commitments and fundamental principles to build ASEAN into a region of peace, progress and prosperity as aspired in the 1967 Bangkok Declaration, he said.

The ASEAN flag has four colours of blue, red, white and yellow, representing the main colours of the flags of all the ASEAN members. The stalks of padi in the centre of the Emblem represent the dream of ASEAN’s Founding Fathers for an ASEAN comprising all the countries in Southeast Asia, bound together in friendship and solidarity. The circle represents the unity of ASEAN. — VNS

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh with Vietnamese and international diplomats in Hà Nội \in front of the ASEAN flag. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh