Asia-Europe partnership indispensable for world's stability and prosperity: Foreign minister
HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn on Tuesday chaired the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) High-level Policy Dialogue, themed “ASEM at 二 五: Strengthening Asia-Europe Partnership in a Transforming World” held both in-person and virtually in Hà Nội.
The dialogue is an initiative of Việt Nam to mark the 二 五th anniversary of ASEM foundation ( 一 九 九 六- 二0 二 一) and is one of the most important activities of the forum in 二0 二 一, serving as an important opportunity for members to discuss the development orientation and vision of the Asia-Europe Partnership in the new period.
The outcome will be an important contribution to the 一 三th ASEM Su妹妹it scheduled to be held on November 二 五- 二 六 in Cambodia.
In his remarks, Vietnamese foreign minister Sơn lauded the remarkable achievements and progress of the partnership over the past 二 五 years and affirmed that Asia-Europe cooperation continued to be a top priority in Việt Nam’s foreign policy.
"The world is witnessing a profound transformation in all aspects as a result of scientific and technological breakthroughs, geo-economic and geopolitical shifts, the emergence of new, complex, inter-related traditional and non-traditional security challenges, and the impact of COVID- 一 九,公众Sơn said.
The minister also pointed to numerous hurdles standing in the way of international cooperation, including protectionism, unilateralism, and behaviours that erode international law.
"In such a rapidly changing and complex world, the Asia-Europe Partnership is more important than ever,"大众he said, stressing that it was “indispensable to the world’s stability and prosperity”.
It was high time for ASEM to devise a new vision to create new drivers and vitality, and carve out for a befitting role in the evolving regional and global architecture, the minister said.
He called on the member countries to demonstrate stronger resolve, take bolder actions, and choose an appropriate path to move forward so that ASEM would reap more success.
It was important for ASEM to prioritise areas that meet the development needs of its member countries, pay due attention to confidence-building measures, and contribute through concrete actions to the global restructuring process towards inclusive and sustainable development, Sơn suggested.
To this end, he proposed three major objectives for ASEM cooperation in the coming decades, comprising maintaining a favourable international environment of peace, stability, dialogue and trust; playing a leading role and making greater efforts to enhance sustainable and inclusive development; and laying a solid foundation for sustainable, enduring, and mutually beneficial economic ties between Asia and Europe.
With the aim of contributing to building a new vision for the Asia-Europe partnership, the dialogue focused on major changes in the world and the two continents, new factors and trends that impact the cooperation in the coming decades, the role of Asia-Europe cooperation in addressing global challenges, consolidating multilateral cooperation and spurring sustainable and inclusive growth, and Asia-Europe cooperation vision in the next periods.