Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (right) receives ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi on Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

JAKARTA — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính had talks with ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi on the sidelines of the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting at the office of the grouping’s secretariat in Jakarta on Saturday. 

PM Chính spoke highly of the co-operation and co-ordination of the official and the secretariat with Việt Nam and praised the bloc’s priorities, namely the control of the COVID-19 pandemic, the acceleration of recovery, rational settlement of issues, and the maintenance of the central role, prestige, and position of ASEAN.

The ASEAN official congratulated Việt Nam for its success as ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UNSC in the 2020-21 tenure. He said he hopes Việt Nam will further its support and contributions to the regional grouping.

Lim Jock Hoi briefed the Vietnamese leader on the performance of Vietnamese officials deployed to the secretariat, expressing his hope that Việt Nam would participate even more actively in the secretariat’s internship programme.

In response, PM Chính thanked the secretariat for having created favourable conditions for Vietnamese nationals and officials working at the secretariat and said the Government supports its citizens to work at international organisations, including the secretariat.

PM Chính asked Lim to support the effective implementation of the outcomes recorded by ASEAN last year and expressed his hope the official will continue to bring into play his role, helping improve the efficiency of the operation of the bloc.

He also proposed to keep pushing popularisation work so citizens can understand more about the ASEAN Community and improve the grouping’s image in the eyes of the international community. — VNS