(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-20 13:33

HANOI - Vietnam has become the fifth country, after Singapore, Brunei, Laos and Malaysia, to ratify the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Charter, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Thursday.

Vietnamese State President Nguyen Minh Triet ratified the association's first common legal and institutional framework on March 6. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem set the letter of ratification to ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan and foreign ministers of the association's member countries one week later.

"The ratification shows the Vietnamese government's strong commitment to accelerate regional integration," the newspaper quoted Nguyen Hong Cuong, director of the ASEAN Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying.

The charter, which sets out principals and rules for ASEAN's operation, is expected to help the association become a closer and more effective socio-political entity.

"A more powerful ASEAN means a stronger Vietnam because Vietnam is an integral part of the organization. Vietnam could not have had today's achievements in foreign affairs or foreign investment if it had not been an ASEAN member," Cuong said.

The five remaining ASEAN members are expected to ratify the charter by the end of this year, the newspaper said.  The charter is due to take effect next January.

The charter, signed at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore last November, 40 years after the group's establishment, shows the organization's "unity in diversity" and accords with the common goals and interests of its member countries, said the newspaper.