Ambassador Le Luong Minh. Photo from https://giaoduc.net.vn
The Philippines’ top diplomat on Wednesday welcomed the assumption to office of the new secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)—a change in leadership that comes as the bloc treads a challenging path toward unity on several key regional issues.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario expressed confidence in the leadership of the new Asean leader, Le Loung Minh, the first secretary general from Vietnam who is a veteran in international affairs.
“With his extensive professional experience and qualifications, we are confident he will ably meet the challenges of Asean as the 10 member countries work toward establishing a community that is politically cohesive, economically integrated and socially responsible,” said Del Rosario in a statement.
He assured Le of the Philippines’ support.
Le took the helm of Asean from Thailand’s Surin Pitsuwan. Tarra Quismundo