The 14th ASEAN Financial Ministers Meeting opened in Vietnam's coastal city of Nha Trang on Thursday to discuss cooperation in dealing with global challenges.

Discussions at the meeting should focus on deepening cooperative relations between ASEAN and its partners, especially the Group of 20 (G20), in dealing with global challenges such as the economic and financial crisis, environment and climate change, said, said Nguyen Sinh Hung, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister at the opening ceremony.

Participants at the meeting will discuss the implementation of ASEAN Financial and Monetary Integration Roadmap, ASEAN's action plans for capital market development, financial services liberalization and insurance and customs cooperation, said Hung.

Discussions also included the effective operation of Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) and Asian Bond Market Initiatives, the two fronts of East Asian financial cooperation.

The meeting drew participation of financial ministers and central bank governors of ten ASEAN countries. Representatives from international organizations included Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Juan Jose Daboub, Managing Director of World Bank and Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB's Board of Directors.

Hung said that there has been much progress in ASEAN cooperation in the past years despite negative impacts of the global economic downturn. It would serve as a driving force to the roadmap of realizing ASEAN Chapter and ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.