Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Dang Dung on Dec. 16 handed over the Chairmanship of
the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) to Ambassador I Gede
Ngurah Swajaya of Indonesia that will chair ASEAN in 2011.

The handover ceremony took place at the final CPR session in
Jakarta, Indonesia, on Dec. 15.

Permanent Vietnamese representative Ambassador Dung said
that the CPR has fulfilled its role of joint coordination to raise the
effectiveness of ASEAN cooperation in various fields, with a focus on
implementing the ASEAN Charter and plans to build the ASEAN Community,
promoting cooperation between ASEAN and its partners through dialogue
mechanisms in Jakarta, closely collaborating and enhancing the capacity of the
ASEAN Secretariat and contributing to the content and successful organisation
of ASEAN’s major activities in Vietnam.

These are the concrete results recognised by ASEAN members
and also the CPR’s active contributions to effectively implementing key ASEAN
tasks in 2010, said the Vietnamese diplomat.

He emphasised the necessity for the CPR to increase the
efficiency of its operation to contribute to promoting efforts to build the
ASEAN Community in the future.

ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan thanked Vietnam for
playing its role efficiently this year. He added that ASEAN has generated much
expectation as well as excitement in the region, as demonstrated by the
accreditation of over 50 ambassadors to ASEAN.

CPR Chair Successor and Indonesian Ambassador Ngurah, as
well as permanent representatives of other ASEAN countries, highlighted the
role of Vietnam’s permanent representative delegation in CPR activities,
emphasising the need for the CPR to increase its role in building the ASEAN
Community.

On the evening of Dec. 15, Vietnam’s
permanent representative delegation held a reception, an art performance and a
culture - tourism promotion programme to mark a successful year of Vietnam
as Chair of ASEAN.

Source: VNA