Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Deputy Minister ofForeign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung has asked the Republic of Korea (RoK)to continue helping ASEAN countries improve their medical capacity at the 25th ASEAN-RoK Dialogue atthe deputy foreign ministerial level held in the form of teleconference on July 6. 

Dung, who is also head of Vietnam’s ASEANSOM, called on the RoK to coordinate in vaccine research and production, and ensurethe fair supply of vaccines.

He appealed to the RoK to assist the ten-member groupin promoting equitable and sustainable development in ASEAN’s sub-regions,including the Mekong.

Dung emphasised the need to maintain and boost multilateralcooperation, step up dialogues and trustbuilding, uphold international law, and peacefully settle disputes, especially in the context of more and more emerging challenges, so as to ensure a peaceful, stable and favourableenvironment for development.

He affirmed that ASEAN supports the RoK’s efforts in promoting thepeace process on the Korean Peninsula, calling on relevant sides toresume peace dialogues and make more contributions to gain peace, long-termstability and full denuclearisation on the peninsula.

ASEAN stands ready to facilitate dialogues betweenconcerned sides at ASEAN-led mechanisms, he said.

Dung used the occasion to reiterate ASEAN’s principled stance on theEast Sea, and expressed his hope that the RoK will continue to play a constructiverole and support the bloc’s efforts to turn the East Sea into waters of peace,friendship and cooperation, as well as ASEAN's role in supporting Myanmar.

At the event, ASEAN and the RoK highlighted the positive developments in their cooperation, including their effective coordination in pandemic response and an increase of 9 percent year-on-year in trade that amounted to around 53 billion USD in the firstfour months of this year.

Deputy Foreign Minister Yeo Seung-bae, who is head ofthe RoK SOM, said the RoK attaches importance to the strategic partnership withASEAN, noting the grouping is a priority in the country’s New Southern PolicyPlus strategy.

The RoK backs ASEAN’s centrality in the regional architecture,as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, he noted.

The RoK informed that it has contributed additional 200million USD to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (COVAX AMC) and pledged tofurther assist ASEAN in the pandemic fight through implementing the 10-million USD COVID-19rapid response programme and establishing a dialogue channel between the two sides.

The two sides agreed to continue prioritisingcooperation in the COVID-19 combat, and coordinate in mitigating the pandemic’ssocio-economic impact for comprehensive recovery and sustainable growth.

The countries also stressed efforts for the early ratification and enforcement of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

Regarding regional and international issues of sharedconcern, the countries agreed on the need to maintain an environment of peace,security and stability to facilitate anti-pandemic and recovery efforts.

They called on relevant parties to soon resume dialogues,fully implement resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)and reached agreements, promote dialogues and cooperation, and maintain peace,stability, denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula.

The RoK affirmed its support for ASEAN’s stance on theEast Sea issue and lauded the grouping’s role in forging cooperation, dialogue and trust building in the region, and in building an effective and efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law andthe 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS).

As for the Myanmar situation, the RoK welcomed outcomesof the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting on April 24, saying it backs ASEAN’s role inpromoting dialogues and helping Myanmar seek solutions to stabilise thesituation./.