Representatives from the Vietnamese Government, the US Embassy and various ASEAN nations came together on Tuesday and addressed the importance of a growing ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and Viet Nam–US trade relations.

At the opening ceremony of the 2017 Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) in Ha Noi, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia welcomed Ambassadors to Viet Nam and 80 young delegates from ASEAN country members, saying it was an excellent occasion to remind all of the opportunities that AEC provides its members, and to overcome economic development challenges.

Nghia also expressed hope that ASEAN youths would learn more about AEC and contribute to its growth.

Ted Osius, US Ambassador to Viet Nam, remarked that the US was interested in the success of ASEAN and the AEC, as it is one of the leading investors in this region. He also said the US was committed to creating the most favourable conditions for the region and its youth to develop.

Through discussions and panel talks, the event aimed to spread better understanding and share experience in balancing economic growth with sustainable development.

According ASEAN Secretariat data, ASEAN is the sixth largest economy in the world with 630 million people and nearly US$2.6 trillion in gross domestic production at the end of 2016.

Nghia suggested that "education is a leading solution in terms of both efficiency and sustainability in order to face rising socioeconomic, environmental and non traditional security challenges in the region". She went on to list the eight ASEAN millennium development goals, including fighting poverty, advocating education, gender equality, health, environment and global partnerships.

Spanning four days from August 1 to August 4, 2017, the fourth annual YSEALI focuses on the AEC, the future for ASEAN economic cooperation and policy initiation. The event gathered outstanding youths from all countries in the region in a bid to enhance leadership and connection. — VNS