Ambassador Nguyen Thac Dinh Former Ambassador of Vietnam to the Philippines, Standing Vice President of the Vietnam-Philippines Friendship Association

On July 28, 1995, in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei Darussalam, a momentous event took place, not only for Vietnam but for the entire Southeast Asian region: the flag-raising ceremony marking Vietnam’s official joining ASEAN as its seventh member. I had the honor and good fortune to be directly involved in the preparations for and to witness that historic moment.