A portal supplying information on Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been launched in Hanoi.

Newswire Vietnamplus reported Monday that the Vietnam-ASEAN portal was introduced the same day at three addresses, including aseanvietnam.vn, vietnamasean.vn, and asean.vietnam.vn. 

The portal, which has English and Vietnamese versions, provides knowledge of the formation, activities, and management structure of ASEAN, as well as the role and contribution of Vietnam to the bloc.

It also allows users to search for a wide range of information, including news, events, economic development, culture, history, science, technology, politics, and security status of the ASEAN member countries.

According to Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son, the establishment of the Vietnam-ASEAN portal is expected to raise public awareness of the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), slated for launch by the end of this year.

As shown on the ASEAN website, the AEC is the goal of regional economic integration by 2015 and envisages the following key characteristics: a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region fully integrated into the global economy.

ASEAN was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, according to the bloc’s website.

The subsequent entry of Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, from 1984 to 1999, made up what is today a ten-member ASEAN.

Vietnam joined ASEAN in July 1995.

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