New ambassador and permanent representative of Viet Nam to ASEAN Ton Thi Ngoc Huong presented her credentials to the ASEAN Secretary-General at the ASEAN Secretariat's headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 13.
At the reception, Kao Kim Hourn extended his congratulations to the Ambassador on her new role and expressed confidence in her ability to significantly contribute to ASEAN's Community building and integration efforts.
He recognized that her extensive experience in ASEAN would be valuable to the work and mandate of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR).
The ASEAN Secretary-General reaffirmed the ASEAN Secretariat's readiness to support the Ambassador and the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to ASEAN in Jakarta.
He emphasized to continue collaboration and cooperation between the CPR and the ASEAN Secretariat to achieve the bloc's goals and objectives for 2025 and beyond.
He expressed his wish that Viet Nam will gain success for its upcoming coordinator role of the ASEAN-United Kingdom (UK) Dialogue Relations, beginning August 2024.
The Secretary-General also commended Viet Nam for its initiative in convening the ASEAN Future Forum (AFF) on 23 April 2024, which he attended and gave remarks alongside with other luminaries of ASEAN.
The AFF was convened in a timely manner with a view to providing ideas for the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and beyond, he noted.
For her part, To Thi Ngoc Huong expressed thanks for the support, participation and contribution of the Secretary-General to the AFF, hoping to receive more assistance in the upcoming time.
She underlined the necessity of enhancing ASEAN's institutional capacity, including standing agencies such as the CPR and the ASEAN Secretariat to meet the requirements of the community development process.
Ton expected that the ASEAN Secretariat and the Secretary-General will continue supporting its member countries to complete the building and soon realize goals of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 to bring practical interests for their peoples and businesses./.