Ambassador Pham Tien Van, to his left, join diplomats during the ASEAN’s chairmanship
turn-over ceremony held at the Malaysian Embassy in Hannam-dong, Seoul. From left are
Hasney Mat Yassin, First Secretary at the Brunei Embassy; Lim Samkol, the Cambodian
Ambassador; Dato’ Ramlan; Pham Tien Van; Thaddaeus Hoo, Singapore’s Deputy Chief
At the turn of the year, the Malaysian Embassy in Seoul handed over the rotating chairmanship of the Seoul committee of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to Viet Nam Embassy.
During a ceremony at the Malaysian Embassy on Tuesday 5 January 2010, which chaired the committee from July to December 2009, Malaysian Ambassador Dato' Ramlan Bin Ibrahim said his Vietnamese colleague was seen as the best envoy to Korea.
"He speaks Korean fluently, and was appointed as an honorary citizen of Seoul and a goodwill ambassador," Dato’ Ramlan said.
Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Tien Van said his Embassy's chairmanship will have two focal points: strengthened collaboration with the ASEAN-Korea Center and Vietnamese participation in the G20 Summit slated for November in Seoul.
"The ASEAN Seoul committee perceives the ASEAN-Korea Center as an important tool to strengthen the relationship between Korea and ASEAN," he said.
The Center, established 10 months ago, was an initiative of the Korean government.
The ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit took place in Jeju Island last June, which gave impetus to the ASEAN-Korea partnership.
However, Ambassador Pham won't be part of the ASEAN Seoul Committee, as he was wrapping up his four-year tenure in Korea.
His departure would be a big loss for his ASEAN colleagues because of the extent of his knowledge and understanding of Korea.
He was educated in North Korea, and has served as a diplomat both in Pyongyang and Seoul. He also speaks Korean fluently.
Vietnam's chairmanship is noted for its duration. It used to be six months, but starting with Vietnam, it will be one year.
Under the theme "Toward an ASEAN Community: From Vision to Action," the chair nation vowed to further unify the regional bloc, which has a mid-term goal of creating a single economic community by 2015.
Condensed from Korea Times’ article by
skim@koreatimes.co.kr