Opening Statement at the US-ASEAN Partnership Conference by

H.E. Nguyen Dy Nien,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Vietnam

New York, 07 September 2000

Yours Excellency Nicolas Platt, Chairman of the Asia Society,
Yours Excellency Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great honour to be invited here to deliver opening remarks at the U.S.-ASEAN Partnership Conference jointly organized by the Asia Society and the ASEAN Secretariat. This is an important forum aimed at: a) instilling in the American and ASEAN publics a deeper awareness of the common interests of Southeast Asia and the United States; b) generating public support for the ASEAN-United States cooperation agenda; and c) promoting greater understanding between the peoples of Southeast Asia and the United States.

Vietnam assumes the Chairmanship of the ASEAN Standing Committee and the ASEAN Regional Forum when the Association became 33 years old, coming of age in all aspects. Emerging from severe difficulties and challenges of the recent economic-financial crisis, ASEAN has now become stronger and more cohesive, regaining and enhancing its dynamic development momentum and its role as an effective force for peace, security and development in the region. Most economies of ASEAN have been on recovery track, some even faster than expected. ASEAN's unity and cooperation have been further strengthened. Our Association's fundamental principles and the "ASEAN way", first and foremost, the principles of consensus and non-interference into each other's internal affairs, continue to be preserved and upheld. Our external relations have been increasingly expanded. ASEAN continues its role as the primary force in key security-political processes in the region, particularly the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

With the admission of Cambodia into ASEAN on 30 April 1999 in Ha Noi, the long-cherished dream of an ASEAN-10 embracing all ten Southeast Asian countries, of Southeast Asia, by Southeast Asia and for Southeast Asia has come true. With a market of 500 million people and a total GDP of more than US$ 700 billions, ASEAN-10 is emerging as a dynamic economic space, an important and credible partner with the rest of the world and an important factor for peace, stability and development in Southeast Asia, Asia-Pacific and the world.

Having said that, I do not mean that ASEAN is without difficulties and challenges. Fully conscious of the opportunities as well as difficulties, challenges facing the Association, ASEAN has clearly mapped out the directions and strategies for development, steadily marching into the new Millennium. They crystalise in the Vision 2020 and the Hanoi Plan of Action. The HPA, adopted at the 6th ASEAN Summit in December 1998 in Hanoi identifies major priority areas of ASEAN's cooperation, with a view to realizing the lofty objectives of the Vision 2020, building ASEAN into "a concert of Southeast Asian nations, outward looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity, bonded together in partnership in dynamic development and in a community of caring societies."

Speeding up the implementation of the HPA has been determined as the focus of cooperation within the Association as well as between the Association and the outside world, especially with its Dialogue Partners, in order to accomplish the following three important missions:

• First, to further consolidate the regional peace and stability, thus creating favourable environment for the development of each country and the whole region.
  
  
• Second, to unceasingly consolidate and strengthen the Association's solidarity and unity on the basis of its fundamental principles, in order to help ASEAN develop in the right direction and in conformity with the agreed purposes and principles, and to enrich and deepen the "ASEAN Way" in the handling of the Association's affairs.
  
  
• Third, to narrow the development gap in and among member countries and regions, ensuring sustainable and equitable development on the basis of steadily expanding and improving the effectiveness of intra-ASEAN multi-faceted cooperation. In this connection, emphasis is given to poverty alleviation, human resources development, development of inter-state areas, and assistance for new members in the process of regional and international integration.

Mr. Chairman,

Enlarging and strengthening external relations, especially with Dialogue countries, among which the United States is an important partner, is the consistent policy of ASEAN over the past years. For more than 20 years, the ASEAN-US partnership has seen encouraging development. We note with gratification that the United States appreciates ASEAN's role as a reliable partner, an important and attractive market for the U.S. However, we both have to exert more efforts to bring ASEAN-US relationship, bilaterally and multilaterally, onto a higher plane, to be commensurate with our potentials and desire, and catch up with the rapid developments in the Asian-Pacific region, most notably the East Asian co-operation under the ASEAN+3 framework (with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea). Therefore, for the years to come, economic, trade and development cooperation should be geared up on the basis of equality, non-discrimination and mutual benefit and treated as the priority of the dialogue partnership. No doubt, with a vast market, large source of investment, and powerful technological potentials, the United States could create favourable conditions for ASEAN goods to access the US market, encourage and facilitate investment from the US private sector into the region in order to help ASEAN achieve fast economic recovery and sustained growth. On our part, with the growing dynamic economies, ASEAN would continue to be an important partner of the US. ASEAN highly appreciates the U.S. supports for the HPA, considering it an important strategy of the region and hope that the US would actively participate in the implementation of the HPA, especially in ASEAN development projects in science and technology, telecommunication technology in particular, human resources development, poverty alleviation, environment, agriculture, small-and-medium-sized enterprises, the development of the Mekong subregion, etc. The U.S.'s active participation in this Plan would also constitute a practical contribution to peace, stability and prosperity in the region, in the interests of both ASEAN and the United States.

Assuming the ASC and ARF Chairmanship, Vietnam also takes up the Coordinatorship for ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations for the next three years. In these capacities, Viet Nam will do her best to further strengthen our dialogue relations for both sides' benefit and in the interest of peace, stability and development of the region and the world. In this connection, we hope to enjoy closer co-operation from both the U.S. government and the private sector so that we together could strengthen our relationship to be commensurate with our potentials and expectations, making it one of the most effective dialogue relations. I would like also to reiterate that the recent signing of the Vietnam-US Trade Agreement on an equal footing and for the mutual interests, contributes not only to strengthening U.S.-Viet Nam bilateral relations but also promoting ASEAN-US Dialogue relations.

I wish the Conference a great success.

Thank you.