(VOVworld) – The National Assembly’s External Relations Committee chaired a hearing on the ASEAN Community and Vietnam’s involvement in the organization in Hanoi on Tuesday.

Representatives from the Foreign Ministry and other relevant ministries presented delegates with a general overview of the Community, the opportunities and challenges following its establishment and made recommendations to increase the National Assembly’s role in promoting cooperation within ASEAN. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said that the establishment of the Community will raise ASEAN’s central role in the region and called it ASEAN’s strategic change after 48 years of development: “The ASEAN Community will have a combined population of 600 million with a GDP of 3 trillion USD, the 3^rd most populous market in the world, after China and India. This will be a single market and production center for all ASEAN countries. It will allow the free flow of goods, services, investments, and skilled workers within ASEAN.”

Delegates proposed that the National Assembly coordinate with the relevant ministries and sectors to promote Vietnam’s interests in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), fine-tune the legal system to make it easier for internaitonal integration, incorporate ASEAN’s commitments and agreements into national development programs, and increase public awareness of the benefits of cooperation within ASEAN.