Singapore (VNA) – Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem praised dialogue partners’ assistance to programmes promoting regional cooperation, narrowing the gap among ASEAN member countries and building the ASEAN community.

Speaking at the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) +10 Sessions with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Russia, the US, the EU, Canada, Australia and New Zealand on July 23, the Deputy PM said the two sides should accelerate implementation of cooperation agreements and complete ongoing negotiations as soon as possible in order to build free-trade areas to boost the two sides’ economic and commercial ties.

He said they should also create opportunities for ASEAN member countries to integrate through international trade, promote cooperation for mutual benefit, and deal with global issues and challenges, with the aim to contribute more to maintaining peace, security and development in Southeast Asia , the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

The Deputy PM said he hoped dialogue partners would continue to support and assist ASEAN to obtain its targets of building the ASEAN community and upholding its important role in regional processes.

In the afternoon of July 23, the Vietnamese delegation co-chaired the ASEAN PMC+1 session with Canada.