Proposing 3 breakthroughs and 3 enhancements for ASEAN

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends and delivers a speech at the Plenary Session of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit. Photo: Nhat Bac/VGP.

This is a conference for leaders of ASEAN countries and Australia to look back on the relationship over the past half century and set out visions and directions for the development of the relationship in the coming time; at the same time, discuss international and regional issues of mutual concern.

At the conference, leaders of both sides expressed their satisfaction with the development of relations and cooperation achievements, especially since the two sides established a Strategic Partnership in 2014 and upgraded it to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021. Australia is the first Dialogue Partner and also one of the first partners to establish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN. Bilateral relations are developing dynamically in all areas: Politics - security, economy, culture - society and development cooperation. In 2022, two-way trade turnover reached 101.08 billion USD, an increase of nearly 20% compared to 2021; foreign direct investment from Australia to ASEAN reached 2.01 billion USD, 6.5 times higher than in 2021, almost reaching the level before the Covid-19 pandemic...

Speaking at the plenary session, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the special significance of the Conference; highly appreciated the close and long-standing relationship between ASEAN and Australia and Australia's cooperation and support for ASEAN over the past 50 years. The Prime Minister proposed 3 breakthroughs and 3 enhancements for ASEAN-Australia relations in the coming time.

Accordingly, ASEAN and Australia need to: make a breakthrough in economic, trade and investment cooperation, striving to double two-way trade turnover in the next 10 years; make a breakthrough in human resource development cooperation, especially high-quality human resources and labor cooperation; propose that ASEAN and Australia soon establish a reference mechanism to exchange specific measures; make a breakthrough in cooperation in science - technology, innovation, focusing on developing the digital economy, green transformation, circular economy and emerging industries and fields such as semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence; propose to organize the ASEAN - Australia High-level Forum on Digital Economy to discuss cooperation opportunities, including the possibility of negotiating the ASEAN - Australia Digital Economy Agreement.

3 enhancements include: enhancing political trust, cooperation to ensure regional peace and security, promoting the culture of dialogue and cooperation, promoting trust building and preventive diplomacy, encouraging major countries to make responsible contributions to the region; enhancing sub-regional cooperation, narrowing the development gap for inclusive and sustainable development, especially in strategic infrastructure connectivity projects, helping to create positive socio-economic changes in poor and underdeveloped sub-regions of ASEAN; enhancing cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange, promoting the strengths of more than 1 million people of ASEAN origin, including more than 350,000 people of Vietnamese origin in Australia, contributing to enhancing understanding, empathy and connection, especially between the young generations of both sides, thereby consolidating a long-term and strong social foundation for the relationship.

At the retreat, in the spirit of sharing visions, pooling resources and acting together for a peaceful, stable and sustainable Indo-Pacific region in the future, the Prime Minister also proposed “3 togethers” between ASEAN and Australia to promote a regional vision with three aspects. In particular, building a united and self-reliant region, capable of withstanding shocks and fluctuations from both inside and outside, and effectively taking advantage of new and breakthrough trends such as innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy, sharing economy, artificial intelligence, etc. to accelerate comprehensive, sustainable and inclusive growth, leaving no one behind.

Second, jointly promote a region that respects international law and acts based on the rule of law, in which countries comply with the United Nations Charter, international law, respect ASEAN rules and standards of conduct, and promote the development of new rules and standards of conduct, including a truly substantive and effective COC, contributing to making the East Sea a sea of peace, stability, cooperation and development.

Third is to jointly build and shape an open, inclusive regional structure that promotes multilateralism with ASEAN playing a central role and being the core factor helping to gather and harmonize interests among major countries.

At the end of the conference, the leaders of the two sides adopted the “ASEAN-Australia Leaders’ Vision Statement – Partners for Peace and Prosperity” and the “Melbourne Declaration – Partners for the Future”, setting out a vision for the future as well as directions for developing relations in all areas in the coming time.

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