ASEAN+3 join hands in coping with COVID-19
VGP – Viet Nam suggested China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) continue supporting ASEAN to narrow development gap at the bloc's subregions, including the Greater Mekong Sub-region amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung attends the ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM ASEAN 3) held in the form of video conference on June 22, 2021. |
Nguyen underscored the need to strengthen cooperation in containing the pandemic and regarding comprehensive recovery as the top priority, proposing partner countries to share experience in the COVID-19 fight and support ASEAN to improve vaccine production capacity and purchase.
ASEAN 3 needs to effectively launch the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders’ Statement on strengthening ASEAN Plus Three cooperation for economic and financial resilience in the face of emerging challenges, he said.
He stressed the importance of ensuring an environment of peace, security and stability is the prerequisite condition to facilitate recovery, growth and sustainable efforts, focusing on enhancing dialogues and cooperation, building trust, respecting laws, boosting mutual belief and cooperation for common interest.
The ASEAN countries highly valued China’s supply of 100 million doses of vaccine to ASEAN and the commitment of Japan and the RoK to providing US$1 billion and US$200 million, respectively, for the COVAX AMC mechanism to provide vaccines for poor and developing nations.
The ASEAN 3 countries agreed to accelerate close coordination to maintain and facilitate trade and investment, expand regional connectivity and gradually remove travel restrictions between regional countries if the situations will be controlled.
They also pledged to continue promoting trade liberalization, and regional economic connectivity, and to early ratify and implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
By Thuy Dung
