The 42^nd ASEAN Summit concluded on May 11 after three days of meetings, with leaders approving many documents in all three key pillars of political security, economy, and socioculture.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the dialogue session between ASEAN leaders and representatives of the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Community's Post-2025 Vision (Photo: VNA)

The 10 documents approved at the summit include the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Developing Regional Electric Vehicle Ecosystem; ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on One Health Initiative; ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Advancing Regional Payment Connectivity and Promoting Local Currency Transaction; and ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Combating Trafficking in Persons Caused by The Abuse of Technology.

The leaders passed the ASEAN Declaration on The Protection of Migrant Workers and Family Members in Crisis Situations; ASEAN Declaration on The Placement and Protection of Migrant Fishers; ASEAN Leaders Joint Statement on The Establishment of an ASEAN Villages Network; and a roadmap for admission of Timor Leste as an official member of ASEAN.

They also adopted ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on The Development of The ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision, which aims to promote strong, comprehensive and inclusive growth and settle challenges inside and outside the region in the next 20 years.

The ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on Strengthening ASEAN’s Capacity and Institutional Effectiveness was also approved at the summit, reaffirming the commitment of ASEAN leaders to make efforts to maintain centrality, unity and relevance amid the challenges facing the region.

Leaders also discussed the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar, and condemned the attack on a convoy of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and ASEAN Monitoring Team in Myanmar.

The attendance of the Vietnamese delegation at the event, led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, demonstrated Viet Nam's active, positive and responsible contributions to the ASEAN, the building of the ASEAN Community and intra-bloc solidarity, as well as the settlement of challenges and maintenance of ASEAN standpoints on international and regional issues.

Speaking to Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in Jakarta, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn affirmed that since joining the association in 1995, Viet Nam has made important, productive and positive contributions to the regional group.

He highlighted Viet Nam’s fast transformation and outstanding development achievements in recent years. With about 100 million people, ranking third among ASEAN member countries in population scale, Viet Nam has strong economic potential with high investment attraction and fast social development, he said, adding that the “S”-shape country is one of the ASEAN members that draws great attention in investment, tourism and trade.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council 2023 (ASEAN-BAC) Arsjad Rasjid praised Viet Nam’s positive contributions to materialising economic priorities of ASEAN in 2023.

He said that Viet Nam has been an important player in promoting trade and investment within the region and beyond, as the country has actively participated in initiatives such as the ASEAN Free Trade Area and recently expressed interest in joining the cross-border payment connectivity network, which is a positive development for the region's economic integration. According to him, Viet Nam's upcoming hosting of the ASEAN Wind Energy 2023 event is a significant contribution to the region's renewable energy goals.

At the same time, Timor-Leste Ambassador to Indonesia Filomeno Aleixo da Cruz said that Viet Nam has been a very strong supporter of Timor-Leste’s ASEAN membership bid since the very beginning of their application. He affirmed that Timor Leste is looking forward to working closely with Viet Nam in the future especially in relation to the membership to ASEAN, through capacity building programmes and development cooperation.

Source: VNA