Vietnam set to join ASEAN

Vietnam set to join ASEAN

HANOI (Reuter): Vietnam expects to join the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year and there are no
political or economic obstacles to membership, Foreign Minister
Nguyen Manh Cam said yesterday.

ASEAN foreign ministers agreed in July to give Vietnam active
support to become a full member in 1995, he told Reuters in an
interview.

Vietnam will be the first communist member of the association
-- which groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore and Thailand -- and, on entry, will have the weakest
economy.

"Economically, there is a certain disparity in the level of
development between Vietnam and the ASEAN countries," Cam said.
"Politically there are some differences in political regimes."

He said China supported Vietnam's membership and was itself
trying to improve relations with ASEAN.