Prime Minister proposes 3 strategic priorities and 3 breakthrough actions for ASEAN development

According to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, for ASEAN to become the third largest economy in the world, solidarity, breakthrough thinking, sharp strategy, feasible roadmap, and decisive action are needed.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the ASEAN Future Forum 2025. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

On the afternoon of February 25, the opening session of the ASEAN Future Forum (AFF) 2025 took place in Hanoi, with the theme "Building a united, inclusive and resilient ASEAN in a volatile world."

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended and delivered an important speech, proposing three strategic priorities and three breakthrough actions: Solidarity, self-reliance, identity, flexible adaptation, mobilizing all resources for development and connecting ASEAN with the world.

ASEAN Future Forum is an initiative proposed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Indonesia in 2023.

Immediately after that, in April 2024, the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 with the theme "Building a fast-growing, sustainable, people-centered ASEAN Community" took place in Hanoi.

Following the success of the first edition, the ASEAN Future Forum 2025 attracted more than 600 delegates to attend in person, including many Senior Leaders of ASEAN countries and partners.

In particular, the opening session was attended by President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor José Ramos-Horta; Deputy Prime Ministers of Laos and Cambodia; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and Secretary General of ASEAN.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son delivered a welcome speech.

Many leaders of countries and international organizations sent messages to the Forum in the form of recorded and written speeches, such as the Prime Minister of Thailand, the President of the European Commission, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Prime Minister of Russia. The Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Prime Minister of New Zealand are expected to attend the Plenary Session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2025.

Speaking at the opening session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2025, relaying the words of General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and personally welcoming the delegates attending the Forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that with the theme "Building a united, inclusive and resilient ASEAN in a changing world," the Forum is a very meaningful event at the time of commemorating the 10th anniversary of the formation of the ASEAN community and the 30th anniversary of Vietnam joining the ASEAN common home.

This is also the year that ASEAN adopted the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 to bring ASEAN into a new era towards a community of solidarity, unity in diversity, self-reliance, innovation, and people-centeredness.

According to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the world and the Asia-Pacific region are witnessing profound changes with intertwined challenges and opportunities, but challenges and difficulties are greater. Global, national, and comprehensive issues are evolving faster, more complexly, and more unpredictably.

The world today is facing trends of political polarization, population aging, resource depletion; diversification of markets, products, and supply chains; greening of production, business, and services; and digitalization of all human activities. This context poses many difficult problems but also opens up rare opportunities for ASEAN to affirm its position and make a breakthrough.

The Prime Minister said that since its establishment nearly 60 years ago with only 5 founding members, ASEAN has today become a community of 10 nations united in diversity; the 5th largest economy in the world with the leading growth rate; the center of regional and global integration processes; a bridge of dialogue and cooperation for peace and development in the region, actively contributing to shaping a new world order.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the opening session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2025.

Entering a new development phase, ASEAN is forecast to become the third largest economy in the world with a GDP exceeding 10,000 billion USD, a consumer market of more than 800 million people, and will also be a center of technology, digital economy and innovation, with a digital economy expected to be 1,000 billion USD by 2030.

To make that forecast come true, ASEAN needs not only unity and consensus, but also breakthrough thinking, sharp strategies, feasible roadmaps, concentrated resources and decisive actions.

On that basis, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed 3 strategic priorities and 3 action breakthroughs, of which the 3 strategic priorities include:

Firstly, prioritise strengthening ASEAN’s strategic autonomy through enhancing ASEAN’s solidarity and centrality. A strategically autonomous ASEAN is an ASEAN that is consensual and united; at the same time balanced and flexible in its foreign relations; playing an active role in shaping the regional order and international solidarity and cooperation in the current context.

Second, build an economically resilient ASEAN. Through innovating traditional growth drivers, while promoting new growth drivers, especially in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. ASEAN needs to take the lead in promoting digital transformation and innovation, developing a green economy, circular economy, renewable energy, and deeply connecting with the global supply chain to become the world's strategic manufacturing hub.

Third, upholding ASEAN’s values and identity such as: the spirit of consensus, harmony, unity in diversity and respect for differences. This is not only to be continued but also a value that needs to be shared and spread widely to become a common guideline of conduct for countries in international relations.

Along with that, 3 breakthrough actions include: First, building a mechanism, making decisions more flexibly, effectively, and responsibly; ensuring both maintaining the consensus principle and having specific mechanisms for strategic initiatives.

Second, promote public-private partnership to mobilize all resources for ASEAN regional development, especially key projects; encourage greater participation of the private sector in total social investment; further remove traditional trade barriers and restrictions; develop a digital, smart, and safe economic environment to serve ASEAN trade and investment.

Third, further strengthen ASEAN connectivity, especially infrastructure connectivity, people-to-people exchanges and institutional harmonization; make efforts to further shorten the decision-making process and simplify administrative procedures and processes in each ASEAN country to effectively implement cooperation activities.

The Prime Minister stressed that three decades of accompanying ASEAN have affirmed Vietnam's correct strategic vision. ASEAN has become a strategic space and a natural development environment for Vietnam. Vietnam has always been an active and responsible member in consolidating solidarity, enhancing the central role and promoting sustainable development of ASEAN.

Citing the proverb "One tree alone cannot make a forest, three trees together can make a high mountain"; arguing that this is even more true in the current context when ASEAN and Vietnam are standing at a new historical starting point, together moving towards aspirational goals, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam strongly believes in the solidarity, unity, spirit of cooperation, vitality and strategic value of ASEAN.

At the same time, we pledge to be a proactive, active and responsible member in building a united, inclusive and resilient ASEAN Community, together realizing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 for the benefit of all people in the region, together with member countries, partners and international friends, to continue writing new proud pages in ASEAN's development journey.

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