Vietnam's Vice-State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan put forward three initiatives at the sixth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Kazakhstan this week, where she also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders from several other countries.

At the two-day CICA Summit, which kicked off on Wednesday in the Kazakhstan capital city of Astana, Vice-State President Xuan delivered a speech regarding comments and concerns on the current situation in Asia and the world in general, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

In her speech, Xuan affirmed that Vietnam is ready to be a friend, a trustworthy partner, and an active and responsible member of the international community, based on its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, and multilateralization and diversification of relations.

She also underlined the efforts of the 10-member ASEAN block, which includes Vietnam, in maintaining peace, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight in Southeast Asia, and in settling disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

With a view to promoting Asia’s long-term and stable development, Vice-State President Xuan proposed three initiatives to the conference. 

First, CICA should promote a spirit of cooperation, action, and responsibility to create a peaceful and stable environment for development based on the United Nations Charter and international law, especially the principles of respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity of countries, and settlement of disputes by peaceful means without using or threatening to use force.

Secondly, CICA should actively take part in creating and leading the strong transformation trends of a new Asia to ensure a rapid, sustainable, and inclusive recovery and development process following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lastly, CICA should promote reciprocal interaction between regional and inter-regional cooperation and connection mechanisms in order to set up an open, multi-center, multi-tiered, and multilateral network.

Vice-State President Xuan told the meeting that Vietnam is ready to join efforts to strengthen dialogues, coordinate actions, and build trust within CICA for peace, cooperation, and development.

In her talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin within the event’s framework, Xuan affirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to its comprehensive strategic partnership with the Russian Federation and hopes that the two countries will maintain and enhance effective cooperation. 

The two countries should continue working closely together to remove obstacles to bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation, Xuan added.

Putin agreed to strengthen ties between Russia and Vietnam in a practical and effective way and stressed that Russia considers Vietnam a leading partner in its foreign policy.

Xuan also held separate meetings with Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan, Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during which they focused on measures to foster respective bilateral ties.

CICA is a multi-national forum established in 1992 by Kazakhstan with an aim to enhance cooperation toward promoting peace, security, and stability in Asia, according to its website.

The forum now has 27 member states and 14 observers, including the U.S. and five international organizations, such as the United Nations.

Since its official entry into CICA in 2010, Vietnam has made many active and responsible contributions to promoting dialogues and building trust within the CICA framework as well as strengthening cooperation among its member countries, according to Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.

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