Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem

The ASEAN Regional Forum plays an important role in the region’s stability and development, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

Deputy PM Khiem said the ratification of the ARF Vision Statement would help the ARF build on the successes of the past 15 years and continue its active contributions to the region’s peace and stability.

He stressed that the ARF should continue measures to increase confidence as a foundation to strengthen the mutual trust between participating countries.

He also suggested measures to improve the efficiency of cooperation within the ARF, including the implementation of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and solutions to global challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, epidemics and terrorism.

At the forum, the ministers reviewed the ARF’s important contributions to the region over the past 15 years in terms of security and building confidence among regional countries.

The forum also agreed that Vietnam would take over the ARF presidency from Thailand as of January 2010.

Khiem Thursday also attended the first meeting of foreign ministers from countries in the lower Mekong basin and the US.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of AMM-42 under an initiative by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with the consensus of her counterparts from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

The ministers looked into strengthening cooperation in a range of directions, particularly in dealing with environmental problems, climate change, health, education and infrastructure development.

Source: VNA