VGP – Foreign Ministers from 10 ASEAN member countries and counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea attended the ASEAN+3 (APT) Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday. 

The APT countries discussed cooperation in important areas including finance, connectivity, sustainable development, disaster relief and multilateral trade, especially the ongoing negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). 

The APT countries also welcomed the initiative to launch the APT website to enhance visibility of APT to the public.

Foreign Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the ASEAN+3 mechanism in fostering peace, stability, security and prosperity in the East Asia region.

They emphasized their support for an open and fair trading system, expressing concerns over trade tensions and protectionism.

The Foreign Ministers reiterated their resolve to soon conclude RCEP negotiations while enhancing support for the development of small and micro enterprises, effectively realizing the Chiang Mai Initiative Multi-lateralization (CMIM), and promoting the role of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).

On the occasion, the Foreign Ministers adopted strategic goals on financial development on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of ASEAN+3 financial cooperation.

Regarding Korean peninsula situation, the ATP countries acknowledged recent positive progresses, especially since the first and the second DPRK-USA summits in Singapore and Viet Nam in 2018 and 2019 respectively as well as the two countries’ leaders last June.

The ATP expressed their support for continued efforts towards sustainable peace and full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Addressing the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister welcomed efforts to expand ASEAN+3 cooperation across fields like digital connectivity, e-commerce, smart cities to narrow development gap and boost the development of small and micro enterprises.

Minh pledged that Viet Nam will continue proactive engagement in promoting the role of the ASEAN+3 mechanism in peace, stability and cooperation in East Asia./.