Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh (Photo: VNA)

In an interview granted to the press on the occasion of the upcoming 24^th ASEAN Summit scheduled for May 10-11 in Myanmar, Vinh stated that ASEAN’s highest goal is to form a formalised community by 2015. He added that the association’s key tasks now are to step up efforts to realise the roadmap and criteria for the community formation.

“ASEAN should ensure an environment of peace, stability and cooperation in the region and deal with non-traditional security challenges while creating a stable environment and building trust in the East Sea,” he said.

He added that in the face of current difficult tasks and challenges, the association must further enhance its capacity, including the development in each member state and the building of institutions that enable ASEAN to both build its community and fulfill its central role in ensuring an environment of peace, stability and cooperation in the region.

According to the Deputy FM, since a roadmap for the community building based on three pillars - namely politics-security, economics, and socio-culture - was adopted in 2009, ASEAN has made significant progress in the mission, with 80 percent of set tasks being fulfilled.

Many difficulties still lie ahead so each member country and the whole region should work harder to achieve all set targets in the ASEAN Community building roadmap, he noted.

“The community building is an uninterrupted process and December 30, 2015 only marks its start,” he said, adding, “ASEAN will face many difficulties and challenges in its path of building the community in the years ahead”.

Therefore, ASEAN leaders have instructed member states to map out a post-2015 community building and development vision that will orient the grouping’s higher development once the community is launched.

Together with the community building and intra-bloc development connection, ASEAN must promote its central role in building an environment of peace, security and development in the region as well as its core role in expanding regional links, Vinh said.

“It requires ASEAN to be strong and united to raise its connectivity to a higher level in line with the community building roadmap and post-2015 vision,” he stressed.

Regarding the 24^th ASEAN Summit, the Deputy FM said this will be the first summit hosted by Myanmar in the year it assumes the ASEAN Chair. The event will set out ASEAN’s major tasks for the whole year.

During the summit, ASEAN leaders will discuss measures to ensure the successful establishment of the ASEAN Community by 2015 and orientations for the association’s development in following years.

The leaders are scheduled to adopt a statement on ASEAN Community building this year towards the formation of the community in late 2015.

There will be also a statement of the ASEAN Chair on the outcomes of the summit.

According to Vinh, the Vietnamese delegation, led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, will make positive contributions to the summit and related meetings in the spirit of activeness, proactiveness and responsibility.

The Vietnamese delegation set to emphasise the need for ASEAN to raise its voice in issues related to regional peace, security, cooperation and development.

It will also share concerns and principles in ensuring peace, stability, maritime security and safety in the East Sea , he added.-VNA