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REMARKS BY H.E. MR. NGUYỄN TẤN DŨNG, PRIME MINISTER OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIỆT NAM at the Special Session on East Asia Davos, January 30, 2010 ________________ Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, an East Asian Community of peace, stability, prosperity and progress is gradually taking its shape in reality. Since 1997, regional cooperation and integration towards an East Asian Community have been significantly enhanced under various mechanisms initiated by ASEAN. Important outcomes are recorded in various fields, where economic cooperation and integration are at the forefronts, acting as catalysts and fundamental platforms for the Community building. Economic and trade ties among regional countries have been further deepened by a network of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements. The proposals on an East Asian Free Trade Area (EAFTA) among ASEAN+3 countries and a Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) among 16 countries of the East Asian Summit (EAS) are being considered for realization. Once established, the EAFTA alone will be the largest Free Trade Area in the world with 2 billion people and US$ 10 trillion in GDP. Another important area of cooperation for an East Asian Community is the improvement of infrastructure connectivity among regional economies. ASEAN is now developing a Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity to connect road, rail, sea and air routes, telecom and software infrastructure within ASEAN and beyond to East Asia. It is our vision that within the next 20-30 years, East Asia will be a well-connected region where ASEAN plays its centrality. In terms of mechanism, East Asian cooperation and integration are mainly conducted through ASEAN+3 and the East Asian Summit, in which the ASEAN+3 is considered the main tool with ASEAN at its centre and supplemented by ASEAN+1, ARF and EAS. Apart from these architectures, a number of noteworthy initiatives have been recently proposed, namely the Asia Pacific Community by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd or an East Asian Community by Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama. Ladies and Gentlemen, The year 2010 is a pivotal year for ASEAN to step up its Community building efforts. During its ASEAN Chairmanship for 2010 with the theme of “Towards an ASEAN Community: from vision to action”, Việt Nam will work closely with other members to effectively implement the ASEAN Charter, and advance the programs and roadmap for Community building while expanding and deepening the cooperation between ASEAN and its partners. Việt Nam will also work hard to coordinate and push the ASEAN+3 and EAS cooperation. A dynamic and closely integrated ASEAN will serve as the most important element towards the East Asian Community. In that line, I call upon the developed partners to continue the support and assistance to help ASEAN build its Community by 2015, especially in the efforts to narrow the development gap and increase intra-bloc connectivity. In my view, in 2010 and beyond, resources should be pooled in order to step up macro-policy coordination, promote sustainable growth in the region, and maintain the economic dynamism of Asia, with focus on the following priorities: - First, to enhance financial and monetary cooperation, soon implement the agreement on the Chiang Mai Initiative Multi-lateralization, and improve the resilience of banking systems in the region. It is essential for East Asian countries to make active and practical contributions to the reforms of international financial and monetary institutions and global governing bodies, including the G-20. The Republic of Korea, an East Asian nation, co-hosts the G-20 Summit this year, and this will be an opportunity for East Asia to win a higher profile. ASEAN also looks forward to continued participation at G-20 meetings. - Second, it is important to push cooperation in the fields of economics, trade and investment, increase the proportion of intra-regional trade and investment, and meet the schedules of free trade areas between ASEAN and China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand respectively. It is high time for East Asian economies to show the strong determination to step up regional and international economic integration, promote trade liberalization, fight against protectionism, and display an active role to promote an early conclusion of the Doha Round. - Third, we should work together to improve the infrastructure connectivity in order to facilitate trade and investment as well as people-to-people exchanges. I look forward to the support and assistance from the partners, regional and international organizations to help ASEAN realize its Master Plan on Connectivity, which can serve as the platform to connect East Asia. - Fourth, it is essential to enhance cooperation in response to global challenges like climate change, food and energy security, environmental degradation, natural disasters and diseases. I believe that ASEAN in particular, and East Asia at large, should take the lead in regional and international efforts against climate change. I would propose an East Asian Forum on Climate Change where we can work closely to develop joint regional actions. The forum might evolve into a global framework to address this huge challenge of mankind. Việt Nam is willing to host the first meeting of such forum in 2010. - Fifth, the cooperation in culture, tourism, education and the academic and people-topeople exchange should be further promoted to create and nurture the mutual understanding and trust, and improve awareness of the whole community and regional identity. To this end, I urge Japan, China and Korea, the three pillars of East Asia, to set up an East Asian Fund for Education and Cultural Exchange. Ladies and Gentlemen, Many important pre-conditions for the East Asian Community are put in place. However, due to the diversity of countries in the region, building of an East Asian Community is a big challenge and is a time-consuming process. It is important to bear in mind and make sure that the East Asian Community building is an inclusive process with peace, stability, cooperation, development and common prosperity as its objectives, economic integration as its main tool and ASEAN at its centre. Therefore, apart from pushing economic cooperation, it is essential to promptly address issues that may affect regional security and stability, and pay due attention to promoting confidence building measures. Successful building of East Asian Community is also a precondition for Asia to have a stronger voice in the international arena. Thank you.