site.btaForeign Minister Mitov Meets with ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh

Foreign Minister Mitov Meets with ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh

Jakarta, March 31 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov was received by Le Luong Minh, Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Indonesian capital.

Mitov hailed the active efforts of the Vietnamese diplomat as the organization's Secretary General (2013-2017), which are evidence of Vietnam's active role in ASEAN, the Foreign Ministry said. The two discussed EU-ASEAN cooperation and matters on the international agenda.

Mitov said: "Bulgaria sets a priority on its relations with the countries of Southeast Asia, given their dynamic economic development and ASEAN's role as a nucleus and engine of integration processes in the Asia Pacific region." He said that Southeast Asia holds an important place in Bulgaria's foreign policy. "We set great store by the established traditions in bilateral relations, as well as by dialogue and EU-ASEAN Enhanced Partnership in politics, the economy, social affairs and culture," said Bulgaria's chief diplomat.

It emerged from the meeting that Bulgaria participates actively in the elaboration of EU-ASEAN policies and in the implementation of practical initiatives such as the Danube-Mekong Cooperation Initiative. Mitov voiced the EU's support for further advancement of ASEAN's regional integration and for active development of economic ties between the two unions.

The EU is ASEAN's second largest trading partner after China. In 2014, EU-ASEAN trade totalled 182.9 billion euro (85.1 billion euro in EU exports and 97.8 billion euro in EU imports).

Mitov and Le also discussed security and migrant flows in Europe. They hailed the expansion of EU-ASEAN dialogue on political matters and security, and the prospect of setting up free trade zones between the two organizations. Ways to expand cooperation in civil aviation were also on the agenda.