Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on September 26 joined the ASEAN Informal Ministerial Meeting (AIMM) on the sidelines of the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The meeting aims to prepare for the 23rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings scheduled to take place in Brunei on October 8-9. FM Binh praised the efforts made by the Brunei Government made in 2013 to reinforce solidarity and enhance ASEAN’s central role in dealing with regional security and development, and bolster coordination at international forums within the UN framework. The same day, Minh attended a meeting between ASEAN Foreign Ministers, the UN Secretary General, the UN General Assembly President to review and examine ways to boost ASEAN-UN cooperation including the implementation of comprehensive partnership established in 2011 between the two sides. In his speech, the Vietnamese diplomat hailed ASEAN-UN cooperation in recent times and UN contributions to the regional grouping’s efforts to build a united community by 2015, narrow development gap, and strengthen inner-bloc connectivity. ASEAN and the UN need to further increase cooperation in various fields such as fulfilling Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and solving global issues, Minh noted. Regarding the regional situation, Minh stated that all concerned parties need to spare no efforts to ensure peace, security, stability, maritime safety in the region on the basis of respect for international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, fully implementing the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and building a Code of the Conduct in the East Sea (COC). Minh also met with his counterparts from China, Andorra, Bulgaria and Madagascar to discuss measures to push for stronger relations. VOV