Your Excellency, Ambassador Imran Ahmed Sidiqqi, Additional Secrectary (Asean Pacific), MOFA
Your Excellency, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, Director-General of ISSI,
Your Excellency, High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam, Chair of ASEAN Committee Islamabad,
Your Excellencies Head of ASEAN Missions,
Distinguished Guests,
First of all, I wish to join my ASEAN Colleagues to express our profound and sincere thanks to ISSI. This is not only a great honor of ASEAN in general and ACI in particular but also shedding the bright lights into the aim of enhancing the ASEAN-Pakistan relations to a new level.
Distinguished Guests,
Since 8th August 1967 when ASEAN was established in Bangkok, Thai Lan, the Association witnessed and successfully responded, overcame many difficulties and challenges, and has been growing from strength to strength, developing itself in all fields and pillars.
The Association today has become one of the world’s most important, reputable and successful regional organizations; a common home shared by 673 million people of the 10 nations with diverse cultural identities and many similarities.
ASEAN today have combined GDP of $3.6 trillion has become the fifth largest economic power in the world, is a reliable and important partner of many countries; plays a central role in the important processes of dialogue, cooperation and integration in the region. ASEAN has enjoyed Dialogue Partnerships with 11 countries and international organizations, Sectoral Dialogue Partnerships with 6 Countries, and Development Partnerships with 4 countries.
The advancement of regional connectivity and economic linkage has always been a central, crucial core of the ASEAN’s integration process over the past 57 years. To date, intra-ASEAN trade accounts grown tenfold, reaching USD 3.8 trillion with partners, making it the 5th largest economy in the world, accounting for 3.6% of global GDP. In addition, ASEAN is also the heart of a broadening economic space through a network of 8 FTA, including the ASEAN Free Trade Area and seven FTAs with key partners. In 57 years of building and development, ASEAN took pride in itself to be a successful regional integration model. Its achievements have constituted a strong foundation for ASEAN to fulfill the ASEAN Vision 2025 and to shape a post-2025 ASEAN Vision to further advance an ASEAN Community of solidarity, resilience and responsiveness.
In recognizing the opportunities and challenges facing our region, ASEAN has always stayed true to its path of self-reliance and steadfast in finding a balanced and harmonious approach. Its centrality is maintained without being swayed or drawn into the maelstroms in the region and the world. ASEAN has also expressed and followed its consistent principles and strong commitments regionally and internationally for peace, stability and development with the basic of international laws, and of course by nature the sincerity, trust and responsibility are the first and foremost priorities in our ASEAN way.
At 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related conferences held in Vientiane, Laos, Deputy Minister Do Hung Viet, Head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam, asked countries to continue supporting the central role of ASEAN, working with ASEAN to respond to common challenges, promoting dialogue, cooperation and trust, and building build an open, transparent, inclusive and rules-based regional structure. Regarding some specific areas of cooperation, the Deputy Minister proposed to further facilitate investment and trade, effectively take advantage of FTAs and other trade agreements in the region, and maintain a resilient supply chain. and sustainability, prioritizing enhanced connectivity, digital transformation, energy transformation, green growth, climate change response, narrowing development gaps and sub-regional cooperation.
He affirmed Vietnam’s consistent stance, asking partners to support and respect ASEAN’s stance on the East Sea issue, especially in the face of current complicated developments, as well as efforts to ASEAN’s efforts in building the East Sea into a sea of peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development. The Deputy Minister also emphasized the need to create a favorable environment for negotiating an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea in accordance with international law, especially UNCLOS 1982, while continuing to implement complete and effective Declaration Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlement,
ASEAN has historical ties, friendly relations and long-standing multifaceted cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. ASEAN and Pakistan are making more and more efforts to promote stronger cooperation and linkage in all fields, including political, culture, science and technology, education and training, especially in trade and investment.
Trade volume between ASEAN and Pakistan reached approximately USD$ 11.0 billion in fiscal year 2022 and we do believe that this number will continue to increase rapidly in 2024 and the years to come, because the RCEP as well as new economic policies of Pakistan Government will create more favorable conditions for trade between the two sides, promoting the huge potential between ASEAN and Pakistan.
ASEAN appreciates Pakistan in resolving regional issues and achieving significant strides in advancing regional cooperation of Pakistan for further strengthening its multi-dimensional relations with Pakistan, including through enhanced connectivity and people-to-people contacts. We are supporting and hope Pakistan will contribute more in promoting and preserving peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
We, ASEAN in general as well as 7 members of ASEAN Committees in Islamabad (ACI), including Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are very confident that the relations between ASEAN and Pakistan are remaining huge potentials that need to be explored, realized and tapped into the growth and development resources of each side, especially in trade, economic cooperation, investment joint ventures.
TO THAT GOAL, THE FIRST OF THE FIRST IS TO RAISE THE MUTUAL AWARENESS, INCREASE PEOPLE – TO – PEOPLE CONTACTS TO UNVEIL THE COMMONALITIES AND SIMILARITIES MENTIONED ABOVE AMONG OUR PEOPLE AND CITIZEN.
In relations among ASEAN and its partners in general and Pakistan in particular, we fully understand that the interdependence of the world nowadays is inevitable, that the interest of each nation-state/organization must respect the legitimate interest of other/s, grounded in international laws and the UN Charter, especially when international landscape is witnessing deep, rapid and unpredictable changes.
Thus, when our partner enjoys security, peace and development then we asean will, and vice versa.
All above shows that we share also the values of unity in deversity, the value of integrations and connectivities for developments and strongly believe that we will share and move toward together.
We will turn the differences into complementary advantages for mutual benefit cooperation and developments, for security, peace and prosperity of our countries and peoples.
we will be hands in hands togerther and be prosperous together!
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlement,
Vietnam and Pakistan have been enjoyed an excellent friendship and cooperation in many fields. Vietnam and Pakistan officially established diplomatic relations since 1972, opening a new page in friendship and cooperation between the two countries. Over the past 52 years, the Vietnam-Pakistan relationship has made encouraging developments in many fields, including political, trade and investment, technology, cultural and people and people exchange.
Regarding political relations, the two countries exchanged many high-level delegations, notably the official visit to Vietnam in May 2001 by Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf and the official visit to Pakistan in March 2004 by Vietnam President Tran Duc Luong; the meeting between Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while attending the Belt and Road Summit in China in 2016, Pakistan Parliament Delegation visited Viet Nam 2015, and the fresh meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries when attending the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Cambodia on 4th of August 2022. The agreements and common perceptions between the senior leaders of the two countries have created an important premise for the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
Besides bilateral cooperation, Vietnam and Pakistan also actively support each other in international forums and United Nation’s bodies.
Currently, Viet Nam and Pakistan are preparing to organize the third Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) and the fifth Joint Misterial Commission (JMC) and Joint Trade Commission (JTC).
In term of economic and trade, notably, the two-way trade turnover increased rapidly from USD 242 million (in 2010) to USD 644 million (2016), an average increase of nearly 32%. In 2021, despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the turnover still reached USD 794 million, in 2022 reached USD 904 million, in 2023 gained USD 705 million.
Pakistan is one of Vietnam’s three major trading partners in South Asia and an important export market for Vietnam. The main export items of Vietnam to Pakistan include tea, various kinds of fiber, textile products, seafood, pepper, rubber, tobacco raw materials, machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts, chemical products, etc. In the period 2012-2022, Pakistan has been Vietnam’s largest tea import market and this is commodity also achieves the highest value in the trade relations between the two countries, with an average value of over USD 40 million /year. Pakistan’s main exports to Vietnam include pharmaceuticals items, cotton, fabrics, textile materials, footwear, modern medicines, chemicals, and so on. However, it is still very low as compared to the huge potential of the both sides.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are living in an era of globalization, full of rapid and unpredictable changes. Most extraordinarily, traditional and non-traditional security challenges, such as conflicts in many areas, climate change…
Viet Nam hopes to join hands with Pakistan and All other countries to address traditional and non-traditional security challenges, foster globalization and international integration and connectivity, and work towards a green, clean world of more sustainable, inclusive and humanistic development. Viet Nam focuses on discussing and forging consensus on matters of importance related to peace, security and development in the world and the region, including cooperation to combat climate change.
On this special occasion to celebrate the 57th ASEAN Day, We do hope that, through this activity, the mutual understanding and friendship between Pakistan and ASEAN, will be maintain, strengthen and developed.
I wish you, Excellencies, Ambassadors, and all distinguished guests and dear friends, good health, happiness and success.
Thank you and Happy ASEAN day!
