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ASEAN cultural exchange

The ASEAN Community was officially established and brought into operation on December 31st. This is considered an important milestone in the historical development of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In this community, ASEAN nations shall live, bind and share development benefits together on the road to a peaceful, stable and developed ASEAN community for the sake of all people.​


The establishment of ASEAN community caught the attention of both regional and international nations. In order to respond and celebrate this event, on the evening of December 30th, the provincial People’s Committee held an ASEAN cultural exchange at the provincial Conference and Event Center. The event saw the participation of Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Vinh, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Tri, the representatives of the Consulate General of Laos and the Philippines in Ho Chi Minh City as well as 400 representatives from departments and sectors in the province, friendship associations, trade associations, foreign businessmen, Lao and Cambodian students studying in the province.
Enhancing the connection
2015 is an important year in the history of establishment and development of Southeast Asian nations in general and ASEAN member nations in particular including Vietnam. This year is a historical milestone that marks massive efforts and prepares the foundation, orientation and framework for ASEAN community on stepping into a new stage which strengthens the community towards higher targets. Accordingly, at the 27th ASEAN Summit taking place on November 22nd 2015 in Malaysia, leaders of member nations signed the Kuala Lumpur Declaration 2015 on the establishment of ASEAN Community on December 31st.

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The provincial leaders are taking pictures with representatives from Consulate General of ASEAN nations in Ho Chi Minh City
 
On this occasion, Dong Nai also had various activities in response to this important event including the cultural exchange program, seminar and camp under the spirit of ASEAN, contributing to the relationship, solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the province in particular and Vietnam in general with other ASEAN member nations. This is also a chance to propagate this special event deeply and widely to all strata in the province. Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Vinh emphasized that, the early establishment of ASEAN Community is a trendy, correct and important strategic decision. The ASEAN community is expected to bring practical benefits to ASEAN member nations, especially the economic growth, contributing to higher and better living conditions of all people of member nations, ASEAN is now the shared market of more than 625 million people with 2,600 billion USD of total GDP, which promises great potentials for trade and investment. It is expected to see an increase in GDP by 7.1% and create 14 million jobs in the next ten years. In addition to that, the establishment of ASEAN community will continue to strengthen the political cooperation and security, ensure a peaceful and harmonious environment for all people of member nations and enhance the internal solidarity; at the same time, contribute to and improve comprehensively and practically the quality of life of the people.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Consulate General of Laos in Ho Chi Minh City Ber Ya said that, 2016 is the first year after the establishment of the ASEAN community to implement the vision of ASEAN 2025 and 3 pillar programs of the community. With the role of ASEAN Chair 2016, in order to positively promote the achievements of ASEAN, Laos shall continue to deploy and achieve the targets; maintain peace; stabilize and build a strong community with high level of integration, stable economy, bridging the gap in terms of development; enhance the unity and cooperation for the sake of shared benefits. 
Cooperating in various aspects
Within the spirit of the country as well as the region, as a province located in the key area of the South that has high economic growth rate, Dong Nai has made positive contributions to the overall development, improved the quality of life, enhanced the local economy, accelerated economic and educational cooperation with ASEAN member nations. Accordingly, Dong Nai’s export to ASEAN nations in 2011 – 2014 accounted for 10 – 12% the total export turnover of the province, reaching approximately 800 million USD for the first 8 months of 2015 with the key categories such as footwear, textile and wood products. Currently, Dong Nai is among the top provinces of the country to attract investment capital from ASEAN nations. More specifically, until July 2015, ASEAN nations invested in 129 projects with the total capital of 3.42 billion USD in Dong Nai province, among which the top nations to have the highest investment included Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
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Some performances at the ASEAN Cultural Exchange at the provincial Conference and Meeting Center on the evening of December 30th
 
Besides economy, the cooperation including education and training between the province and the member nations was also promoted. Up to the present, the province has deployed the human resource training program for nearly 200 students from Laos and Cambodia. In recent years, the work of people-to-people relation with ASEAN nations has also caught the attention with the establishment and development of mutual friendship associations between Vietnam and Laos, Cambodia, Thailand…
At the ASEAN cultural exchange event, the cultural features of 10 nations were expressed through various performance ranging from dancing, singing, choir,… Culture – society is one of the 3 pillars of the ASEAN community. Culture is considered the fastest way to get to know and strengthen the relationship among the members. After the establishment of the community, the work of cultural exchange is expected to be accelerated, raising the issues of acculturation and identity preservation of national culture. Chanthaphim Latsada – an overseas student from Laos who is studying first year at the Medical College of Dong Nai said that: “Before coming to Dong Nai province, I spent quite a lot of time studying Vietnamese culture from costume, cuisine, traditions and especially Vietnamese language. Thanks to that, I found it quite easy to adapt to develop myself in a new environment. I am really impressed with Vietnamese culture, especially the traditional Ao dai. In spite of studying Vietnamese culture, I still put on Lao traditional costume when I visit Vietnamese Pagodas and celebrate Laos’ traditional New Year…”.
Speaking on the preservation of cultural identity while integrating into the world economy, the People’s Artist Giang Manh Ha, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that, in the process of integration, culture is the soul of a country and the foundation of development. The movement of politics and socio-economy also carries the spirit of culture. Cultural exchange is an effective form, but it is necessary to preserve the unique cultural identity of our country. Dong Nai is a cultural and historical land, therefore, the people, especially artists must be more passionate about creating, recovering and promoting these values in the eyes of our international frients in the context of integration.
Le Phuong 
 

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