Promoting Mutual Political Trust and Peaceful Development

Asang Laoly

Member of the Political Bureau, Central Committee

of the People’s Revolutionary Party and Vice Premier of Laos

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great honor to attend the Commemoration of the International Day of Peace and China-Southeast Asia Peace and Development Forum, under the theme “Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future” being held in the beautiful city of Shenzhen. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the Government and the People of China, especially to the Authorities and People of Shenzhen for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to us as well as for the excellent arrangements made for this event.

Distinguished Guests,

It is my great pleasure to share my views on the topic entitled “Promoting Mutual Political Trust and Peaceful Development”. This topic, in my view, is very much responsive to the current trend of cooperation between ASEAN Member States and China.

I am delighted to see that over the past two decades since the establishment of dialogue relations in 1991, cooperation between ASEAN and China, one of the three strategic partners of ASEAN, has been gradually enhanced.

Since China was accorded full Dialogue Partner status in 1996, ASEAN-China cooperation has been deepened and broadened, covering political and security, economic, and social and cultural fields, thus making China the first Dialogue Partner with which ASEAN established strategic partnership in 2003.

ASEAN-China political and security cooperation has been continuously strengthened through regular dialogue and consultations, which include Summits, ministerial meetings, senior officials and experts meetings and through various frameworks, namely ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and ROK), ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Plus, East Asia Summit as well as sub-regional and bilateral frameworks. ASEAN-China political and security cooperation includes, among others, transnational crime, natural disaster, non-proliferation and disarmament. China was the first country which acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and expressed its intention to accede to the Protocol to the Treaty on Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone. China has also consistently supported ASEAN’s centrality in the above-mentioned ASEAN-initiated regional frameworks. All this has significantly contributed to the maintenance and promotion of peace, stability, and security in the region and the world at large. This sound political and security cooperation between ASEAN and China has laid a foundation conducive to further enhancement of fruitful ASEAN-China cooperation in other fields, especially in economic and social-cultural areas as well as in the field of cooperation for development as reflected by the continuing increase in the volume of trade, investment, tourist arrivals as well as people-to-people exchanges between ASEAN and China.

Distinguished Guests,

In order to strengthen ASEAN-China strategic partnership, we are of the view that there is a need to further enhance mutual trust and confidence, thus creating an environment to further strengthening our friendly and good-neighborly relations by working closely to together overcome current challenges, building upon the successful joint efforts in addressing the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis as well as focusing on ongoing concerted efforts in facing global economic and financial crisis of 2008. At the same time, we should continue to enhance our good-neighborliness and strengthen our cooperation in the fields of trade, services, investment, tourism, human resource development as well as to work together to address international issues including, among others, climate change, energy and food security, and natural disasters. Most importantly, we should continue our strong cooperation to maintain and further enhance peace, stability and prosperity in the region, thus contributing to further strengthening ASEAN-China relations in the years to come.

Once again, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Government of the People’s Republic of China for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to the Lao delegation.

Last but not least, may I wish the forum a great success.

Thank you.