Da Nang (VNA), Dec. 6 -- The 7th Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF-7) was opened in the central city of Da Nang on December 6, gathering over 90 governmental officials and scholars from ten ASEAN nations and eight ASEAN Dialogue Partners .

Sea and ocean play a crucial part in every nation around the world, and marine cooperation has always been given high priority in regional cooperation mechanism, programmes and plans, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung stated in his opening remarks at the event.

Dung recognized progress in regional martime cooperation over recent years, highlighting initiatives to response to marine environmental pollution, manage ocean waste, combat illegal fishing and sustainably use ma...