Special highlights of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's attendance at the 42nd ASEAN Summit

During his 48 hours in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had nearly 20 multilateral and bilateral activities. Through the Prime Minister's activities, Vietnam's efforts and wishes to work with other countries to build the identity, values, vitality and prestige of ASEAN and deepen Vietnam's relations with ASEAN countries.

At 2:00 p.m. on May 9, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived in Labuan Bajo to begin activities at the 42nd ASEAN Summit.

The official delegation with the Prime Minister attending the Conference included: Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai; Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung; Deputy Minister of National Defense Hoang Xuan Chien; Deputy Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang; Deputy Head of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Thanh; Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan; Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ba Hoan; Ambassador, Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to ASEAN Nguyen Hai Bang.

Upon arriving in Labuan Bajo, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The two leaders emphasized that the two countries will strive to bring bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and Indonesia to 15 billion USD or higher before 2028 in a more balanced direction.

Also on the afternoon of May 9, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The two sides agreed to effectively implement the agreements between the two countries; promote cooperation and connect the two economies, especially in areas such as border trade, cooperation in economic development in border areas, education and training, etc., contributing to supporting each other in building an independent and self-reliant economy associated with deep, substantive and effective international integration, especially in the context of an increasingly narrowing world market.

At 8:00 a.m. on May 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the opening ceremony of the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. ASEAN 42 took place in the context of ASEAN having to deal with many difficulties and challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic has left profound impacts on the economy and society in ASEAN countries, while fluctuations in the region and the world continue to have significant impacts, affecting ASEAN's recovery ambitions.

In that context, the 42nd ASEAN Summit is an opportunity for leaders to discuss and orient ASEAN's development in the coming time to respond to difficulties and challenges, consolidate intra-bloc solidarity, enhance ASEAN's central role in the region, as well as create the most favorable conditions for the recovery efforts of the Association in general and of each member in particular.

At the conference, ASEAN leaders agreed on many important orientations for ASEAN cooperation in 2023 and the coming years. The discussions took place around the theme "One ASEAN of stature: The heart of growth." During the conference, the leaders had meetings and dialogues with ASEAN parliaments, youth, businesses, and the High-level Task Force on the Post-2025 Community Vision.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese delegation came to Labuan Bajo this time with many important messages. That is the spirit of ASEAN solidarity, determination to make substantial and effective contributions to the building of the ASEAN Community, and also affirm the consistent line and unified policy of the Party and State of Vietnam, considering ASEAN an important and inseparable part of its foreign policy.

In that spirit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s speeches were all aimed at generating ideas, promoting self-reliance, and unlocking resources for the development of the ASEAN Community. According to the Prime Minister, after more than half a century of formation and development, ASEAN has never been in such a good position or faced as many challenges as it is today. ASEAN is both the focus of a series of regional connectivity and association initiatives, and at the same time, the focus of increasingly fierce strategic competition among major countries.

Leaders of the countries discussed and approved the main elements of the ASEAN Community Vision after 2025, outlining the future of the Community in the next 20 years, with the goal and aspiration of stronger development, worthy of ASEAN.

ASEAN leaders also adopted 10 documents closely following the priorities set by the ASEAN Chair in 2023 on financial stability and energy security. These are very practical contents, effectively supporting efforts to promote recovery and growth in the region, contributing to making ASEAN truly a central force in the overall development process of the whole region, in line with the spirit of this year's theme "ASEAN in stature: The heart of growth".

Also on the morning of May 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with the Sultan of Brunei. The two sides agreed to promote trade growth in a diversified and balanced manner through expanding cooperation in potential areas with four main focuses: oil and gas cooperation, chemicals, Halal products, tourism, and people-to-people exchange.

On May 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leaders of other countries had a dialogue with representatives of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Youth, ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on the ASEAN Community Vision after 2025.

To maximize the advantages, ABAC delegates proposed five focuses, including facilitating investment and trade, enhancing food security, healthcare self-reliance, digital transformation and sustainable development. ABAC is also drafting the ASEAN Business Roadmap, aiming to promote regional economic reform with the leading role of public-private partnerships.

Also on the morning of May 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. The two governments are determined to remove obstacles and promote the implementation of key projects, improve the investment environment; focus on directing the effective implementation of agreements and results achieved during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Laos and co-chairing the 45th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee.

At 12:00 noon on May 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The two sides agreed to soon reach an agreement to supplement, amend and upgrade the Vietnam-Singapore Economic Connectivity Framework Agreement, strengthen cooperation in the field of e-commerce; promote the effective implementation of the Digital Economy - Green Economy Partnership,...

On the afternoon of May 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The Malaysian Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Malaysia in the region; looked forward to the visit to Malaysia by President Vo Van Thuong later this year and hoped to visit Vietnam soon; affirmed that he would continue to pay attention to directing the further promotion of cooperation with Vietnam, including maritime cooperation; agreed to consider establishing a hotline to facilitate the resolution of issues arising at sea.

Also on the afternoon of May 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos. The two leaders affirmed their determination to soon bring two-way trade turnover to 10 billion USD through measures to facilitate market opening for each other's key export products, including agricultural products, food, and rice trade.

Late afternoon of May 10, on the occasion of the 42nd ASEAN Summit, accepting the invitation of the Indonesian President to ASEAN leaders to watch the sunset in Labuan Bajo, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh went to Marina Port, Labuan Bajo.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and ASEAN leaders visited and enjoyed the sunset in the sea of ​​Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara on the AYANA Lako Di'a cruise ship.

On the evening of May 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and ASEAN leaders dressed in traditional Indonesian costumes attended an official reception hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

On the morning of May 11, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other leaders attended a closed-door meeting to discuss international and regional issues. The Prime Minister emphasized the need for ASEAN to dynamically adapt and strengthen itself to affirm its strategic value. ASEAN needs to strengthen solidarity and unity, uphold the spirit of independence, self-reliance, and self-reliance, strongly promote its central role, maintain strategic balance in relations with its partners, create and promote a culture of dialogue, cooperation, consultation, and trust building.

Also on the morning of May 11, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Timor-Leste Prime Minister Taur Matan. The Prime Minister congratulated Timor-Leste on becoming an observer of ASEAN; affirming that, in the spirit of traditional friendship and close cooperation, Vietnam is ready to share experiences and support Timor-Leste to soon become the 11th member of the ASEAN family.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's participation in the 42nd ASEAN Summit and related activities affirms that Vietnam has made active, proactive and responsible contributions to strengthening ASEAN solidarity and effectively responding to emerging challenges; harmoniously integrating Vietnam's priority cooperation areas and those of interest to other countries such as strategic infrastructure connectivity, digital transformation, green transformation, food security, energy, sub-regional development and climate change response; affirming ASEAN's role, image and prestige, thereby contributing to the building of the ASEAN Community; maintaining ASEAN's principled stance on international and regional issues.

On the evening of May 11, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation returned to Hanoi, successfully concluding their working trip to attend the 42nd ASEAN Summit.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nhung-dau-an-dac-biet-trong-chuyen-tham-du-hoi-nghi-cap-cao-asean-42-cua-thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-227106.html