Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has praised the ASEAN’s success in “striving for the common targets of peace, stability and development”. Officially opening the 2nd ASEAN Culture Week in Hanoi on August 8, the Vietnamese Prime Minister described ASEAN as the most successful association of developing nations.
He attributed the ASEAN’s success to its typical approach: the flexible and wise combination of each nation’s and the whole region’s interests, so as to promote the political advantages of the region, as well as the cultural, social, political and economic diversities of each member country.
“This has allowed us to turn challenges into opportunities, contradictions and competitions into negotiations and cooperation,” the Prime Minister said.
He also said though differences remain in economic development, politics, culture, languages and religion, the ASEAN member countries share the common purposes: to develop economically, maintain peace and stability in the region, and create a base for the stable development of each member and the region as whole. The globalization process, however, has increased the dependence as well as competition among ASEAN nations, P.M. Phan Van Khai said.
He said ASEAN had succeeded in defining a suitable cooperation level and frame to mobilize all nations to deal with issues of common concern.
“We would not abuse our cooperative relationships by using them to pressure and to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries,” the P.M. said.
The 2nd ASEAN Culture Week was held in Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, marking the ASEAN's 37th anniversary.-