Seminar aims to enhance ASEAN-Pacific Alliance links
VOV.VN - A seminar was held on May 22 in Hanoi to seek ways to support Vietnam’s role as coordinator of ASEAN’s relations with the Pacific Alliance (PA).
Those in attendance included senior officials of Vietnam and PA members, including Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, along with representatives of 49 embassies and Vietnamese firms, which are interested in Latin American markets.
The seminar was part of the PA Week in Hanoi from May 22-28, with a string of activities such as gastronomy, a film festival and a photo and product exhibition.
Vu Quang Minh, Assistant the Foreign Minister of Vietnam, praised the PA’s role in the recent development of the Asian-Pacific region. Established in 2011, the alliance has grown rapidly and impressed the whole world with its regional connectivity process in a broad variety of fields, he said.
Minh said economic and trade links between Vietnam and the four PA members have kept growing by 15-20 each year, exceeding US$7 billion in 2016 – accounting for 50% of Vietnam’s total trade with the Latin American region. The Southeast Asian nation and the PA countries have also cooperated in many other spheres such as science-technology, response to climate change, social welfares, agriculture, tourism, public transport, urban infrastructure development, culture and education.
In his opening speech, Secretary-General of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Eduardo Pedrosa applauded the goals of the PA, including building a deeply integrated region; promoting growth, development and competitiveness of the member economies; and forming a forum on political cooperation as well as economic and trade integration.
At the seminar, participants also touched upon various issues relating to cooperation areas in order to enhance the friendship, cultural exchanges and trade ties between Vietnam and the PA.