MANILA, Philippines—Vietnam has assumed the revolving chairmanship of Asean, taking over from Thailand and effective until the end of 2010.
As Asean chair of the year Vietnam would focus on working with the nine other Asean member-states to speed up the implementation of the regional bloc’s various agreements, plans, and programs, particularly the Asean Charter and the Roadmap for an Asean Community (2009-2015).
Vietnam’s theme for its chairmanship on the 15th year of its accession to Asean is: “Towards the Asean Community: from Vision to Action.”
Asean Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan said Vietnam has prepared well for its new role, readying annual sectoral plans that outline a detailed work program for each ministerial body with clear objectives, activities, goals, and targets in accordance with the two mentioned documents.
These would be handy for stakeholders, who would know what support to provide and how to mobilize resources, the Asean secretary general said.
“The new chair has a clear set of priorities and agenda which are useful as an implementation and support guide for Asean member states, the ASEAN Secretariat, Asean Dialogue Partners, and other external parties,” he added.
The Asean chief also thanked Thailand for its “excellent chairmanship in 2009 and welcome Vietnam as the new chair for the year ahead. My colleagues at the Asean Secretariat and I look forward to working closely with Vietnam.”
Asean, which groups together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, has reached a highlight in its history when on January 1 the Common Effective Preferential Tariffs for Asean Free Trade Area took effect. This means that six of its members—Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand can import and export almost all goods across their borders at no tariff.
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