At the annual high-level ASEAN plus one meetings with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India and the Russian Federation, PM Khai made important comments aiming to promote cooperation for mutual benefits between the ASEAN and these dialogue countries.

PM Khai urged the dialogue countries to help the ASEAN implement the goal of community building, particularly in economic cooperation and narrowing of the development gap among ASEAN member countries.

The PM praised dialogue countries' constructive participation and their support for the ASEAN's decisive role in maintaining peace, stability and development in the region, including the group's effective dealing with such outstanding challenges as natural calamities and epidemics as well as implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and work toward the adoption of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).

During the high-level ASEAN plus one meetings with dialogue countries on Dec. 12 and 13 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, leaders of ASEAN member states and dialogue countries were determined to strengthen cooperation in various areas such as politics, economy, trade, culture, and people-to-people exchange as well as in facing new challenges like international terrorism, transnational crimes, energy security, and natural calamities and epidemics, particularly bird flu.

On this occasion, the leaders completed comprehensive cooperation frameworks by signing and adopting a series of joint declarations on strategic or comprehensive partnership between ASEAN and each dialogue country and concrete action plans to implement these documents.

Dialogue countries pledged to continue supporting the ASEAN's bid to strengthen regional cooperation and build the ASEAN community, particularly to narrow the development gap among ASEAN members, through the effective implementation of the Vientiane Action Plan and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI).

They also supported ASEAN in playing the decisive role in regional cooperative structures and promoting coordination of its stance on regional and international matters. Many countries pledged to increase contribution to funds for cooperation with ASEAN, and to contribute or consider contributing to the ASEAN Development Fund (ADF)./.