Washington (VNA) – US Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Scot Marciel, has appreciated Vietnam’s role in the regional grouping.

Vietnam is an active member of ASEAN, and the country plays a constructive role for the group, Scot Marciel, who is also Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs under the US Foreign Department of State, told a Washington-based Vietnam News Agency reporter on July 17.

Obviously, Vietnam has made useful contributions to ASEAN, the US ambassador stressed.

The active role that Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are expressing is very excellent to ASEAN, he added.

At the forthcoming ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), slated for Singapore from July 20-24, the US and ASEAN will discuss their cooperation in the fields of economics, environment, education, and healthcare, Scot Marciel said.