Deputy Foreign Minister Le Luong Minh led the Vietnamese delegation to the first Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit in Kuwait from October 15-17.

Addressing the forum, Deputy FM Minh called on Asian countries in general and ACD members in particular to enhance their adaptability in order to cope with challenges facing the region and the world as a whole.

He said the countries should tap into their own internal strength, renew their growth model and boost regional trade and cooperation in finance. The region should also focus on dealing with the three challenges of causal relationship, which are water resource security, food security and energy security. At the same time, the region should increase their connectivity in terms of both “hard” and “soft” infrastructure.

Vietnam believes the ACD cooperation framework can play a bigger role in connecting Asian countries in the future, the Vietnamese representative said. He presented several proposals with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of ACD cooperation activities.

As a founding member of ACD, Vietnam currently acts as a coordinator and co-coordinator in ACD cooperation in poverty reduction and human resource development.

On the sidelines of the event, Deputy FM Minh held meetings with Kuwait ’s Finance Minister Neyef al-Hajraf and Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Suleiman al-Jarallah. Minh praised Kuwait for its initiative of organising the first ACD summit and its pledge to contribute 300 million USD to the support programme for ACD development projects. He affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to the friendship and cooperative ties with Kuwait .

Deputy FM Minh also met with Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and Japan ’s Deputy Foreign Minister Naoki Zakawa to discuss bilateral ties.