One
of the biggest successes of Viet Nam’s chairmanship of ASEAN during the year was
that the country had managed to shift the focus from words to work, a conference
on ASEAN-EU relations heard last Friday.

Jointly organised by
the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam, an EU delegation, the Viet Nam office of
Wallonia-Brussels and Brussels Free University’s Institute of European Studies,
the conference discussed matters of community building, bilateral relations
between the two blocs and economic diplomacy, among others.

Belgian, Spanish and
Hungarian diplomats joined their local colleagues to exchange experience on
taking the helm of the respective blocs at a time when the three European
countries are jointly in charge of the EU and Viet Nam is wrapping up its ASEAN
chairmanship year.

“We managed to put
forward the overall theme ‘From Vision to Actions’ for our chairmanship year,”
said Tran Ngoc An, deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ ASEAN
Department.

He noted the bloc’s
frequency of high-level meetings to the effect that it actually ‘goes from
meeting to meeting’.

“We set new agenda
with focuses on improving implementation, supervision and monitoring within the
bloc,” he added.

During its
chairmanship, the country worked hard with a connectivity agenda which was quite
crucial for ASEAN integration and harmony given the wide gap between its member
states.

The country took helm
of ASEAN during a difficult year when the world economy was struggling to bounce
back, and while tensions rose on the Korean Peninsula, the East Sea and between
ASEAN member states like Thailand and Cambodia.

However, it managed to
handle delicate issues that emerged during the year such as unrest in Thailand,
the Myanmar elections and the sinking of South Korea’s warship Cheonan.

He also cited a series
of summits between ASEAN and major world powers in October in Ha Noi as
testimonies to the country’s successful chairmanship.

The country would
continue with its commitments of peace and security in the region after its
chairmanship was over at the end of the year, he said, noting that Viet Nam
successfully held the first meeting of ASEAN defence ministers in October.

Viet Nam consulted
with other member states to present a common position at the G20 and world
nuclear summits in South Korea and the US respectively.

Professor Marianne
Dony, president of Brussels Free University’s Institute of European Studies,
said that ASEAN could learn something from the EU’s trio presidency, which was
meant to replace a rotating single-country presidency.

“It’s about
continuity, not convergence of position,” she said, explaining that Belgium,
Spain and Hungary took turns to work and follow up on the same agenda while
maintaining their different positions.

An said the European
trio presidency model was once touched on by ASEAN leaders, and he personally
thought that it was a good idea to ensure the continuity and effectiveness of
the bloc.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News