Mr Trung made the statement at a press briefing in Hanoi on January, announcing the start of Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship and its hosting of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) Retreat in Da Nang on January 13-14.

Promoting cooperation within ASEAN is one of Vietnam’s top priority areas, said Mr Trung.

He said Vietnam has completed preparations, in terms of contents, security, logistics and health care, for all meetings to be held in the country in 2010.

Being aware of its duties as the ASEAN chair, Vietnam has instructed its relevant ministries and agencies to work hard on this important task, he said. The country has sent delegations to other ASEAN countries which chaired the regional bloc to share experiences.

Pham Quang Vinh, head of the Vietnamese delegation to the ASEAN Senior Official Meeting (SOM), said that an important task of ASEAN is to bring its Charter to life and to ensure that all ASEAN agreements will be strictly put in place.

This year Vietnam will host two ASEAN summits, nine ministerial meetings and many other meeting of senior officials and specialists.