(VOVworld) – On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the ASEAN+1 Summit with South Korea, Australia, and the UN, the ASEAN+3 Summit and the Mekong-Japan Summit within the framework of the 28^th and 29^th ASEAN Summit.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (fifth from left) stands with delegation heads at the opening ceremony of the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summit and related summits, held in Vientiane, Lao (Photo: VNA)

At the meetings, the partners spoke highly of ASEAN’s role and suggested ways to foster cooperation with the Association. ASEAN countries asked their partners to further promote the present mechanism, provide resources and experience, increase capabilities, narrow the development gap and work together to tackle transnational crime, contributing to regional peace, stability and prosperity.

At the summits, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Vietnam treasures relations with its partners and their commitment to supporting ASEAN in building its community and bringing into play its central role in the region. Vietnam asked partners to enhance cooperation with ASEAN in fields of priority and to promote the strengths of the two sides.

Regarding ASEAN-South Korea relations, the Prime Minister urged the implementation of the action plan for 2016 - 2020 focusing on economic, trade and investment cooperation, and enhancing regional connectivity in infrastructure development.

In order to promote ASEAN+3 cooperation, Prime Minister Phuc asked for further cooperation in economics, finance, regional economic integration, and the development of micro, small and medium sized enterprises. He also called efforts for sustainable development, especially in renewable energy, agriculture, food security, education and training, and dealing with transnational challenges, including climate change and Mekong water resources.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also said the UN plays an important role in international political life and provides a significant foundation for a more equal, peaceful and prosperous world. He urged the two sides to work together to realize ASEAN’s Vision 2025 and the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development. He asked the UN for support to enhance ASEAN’s capability to respond to climate change to implement commitments set out at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, to manage natural disasters, and to prevent and manage regional conflicts.

At the summits, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc shared Vietnam’s viewpoint on regional and international issues. He confirmed Vietnam’s consistent support for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the resolution of disputes through peaceful means and called on related parties to show restraint and seriously follow relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.  Mr. Phuc said Vietnam supported efforts to improve the situation in the East Sea and called on partners to make contributions to maintaining peace, security, maritime and aviation freedom. Vietnam called on relevant parties to exercise restraint, neither using nor threatening to use force and violence, to resolve disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to support ASEAN and China in implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea, and to soon complete the Code of Conduct in the East Sea soon.