The 33rd ASEAN Summit and related high-level meetings, including the ASEAN Plus 3 (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) Summit, the ASEAN plus 1 (China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, the US, Australia, Russia, respectively) Summit and the East Asia Summit (EAS), take place in the context that ASEAN turns 51 this year and this is the third year since the establishment of the ASEAN Community which has reaped positive outcomes in implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and other general plans in the three pillars of political security, economics and socio-culture of the ASEAN Community.
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Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc |
In the field of political security, ASEAN continues its all-out efforts to consolidate and share regional norms of conduct through the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, or South China Sea, (DOC), towards the building of a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea. It also heightens solidarity and unity in the bloc, promotes values of mechanisms of guaranteeing regional security, shows common voices and standpoints on international and regional challenges via current regional cooperation mechanisms, contributing to boosting cooperation, dialogue, trust-building and to peace, security and stability in the region.
In terms of economy, ASEAN will continue proposing cooperation measures to promote trade liberalization, including increase in intra-bloc trade and investment, high-quality and innovative human resource training, and development of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). At the same time, ASEAN will continue connecting with its economic partners by adjusting and expanding current free trade agreements (FTAs) and signing and negotiating new FTAs.
About socio-culture, ASEAN will concentrate on strengthening practical areas of cooperation taking people’s lives as the center, such as natural disaster response, climate change, social welfare, and support for vulnerable groups while doing its utmost to promote information dissemination on the ASEAN Community among people, enterprises and partners outside the bloc.
Attentively, ASEAN’s partners have attached importance to and been active in boosting multifaceted cooperation with ASEAN via numerous specific programs, initiatives and measures and pledged to continue to support ASEAN in building the ASEAN Community and support its central role in the region.
At the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2018 (WEF ASEAN 2018) hosted by Vietnam in September this year and the ASEAN Leaders’ Gathering (ALG) on the occasion of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - World Bank (WB) in Indonesia in October this year, ASEAN leaders agreed on various cooperation contents and directions in order to improve ASEAN’s adaptability to intensive developments of the world economy and holding the initiative in the fourth Industrial Revolution. Also at the meetings, ASEAN partners made new proposals to confirm their respect for ASEAN.
In that context, the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings open up opportunities for participating leaders to further their discussions to boost cooperation and connectivity in the spirit of ASEAN 2018’s theme “Building a resilient and innovative ASEAN,” and to orient ASEAN cooperation for the years that follow.
Participating leaders will also discuss measures to boost cooperation among parties, including increasing cooperation in economics, investment, trade, infrastructure development and strengthening connectivity. They will strengthen cooperation in response to changes in the world economy, in adaptation to the fourth Industrial Revolution, in addressing global challenges, such as climate change, terrorism, and cyber security. They will exchange views on international and regional issues of shared concern with the aim of contributing to maintaining regional peace, stability, cooperation and development.
The participation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related high-level meetings demonstrates Vietnam’s support for Singapore’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2018 as well as Vietnam’s active, proactive, and responsible engagement in regional cooperation contents.
It is also a chance for Vietnam to boost and realize its proposals and initiatives approved at the WEF ASEAN 2018 and ALG and to court ASEAN’s and partners’ support to orient a theme, creating a prerequisite for the country to succeed in its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020.
We do believe that the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related high-level meetings will be successful, making contribution to delivering a strong message of a resilient and innovative ASEAN, expanding and developing relationship between ASEAN and its partners in an intensive manner, reinforcing ASEAN’s solidarity, unity and centrality in an open, transparent and rules-based regional architecture.
Written by the Editorial Board
Translated by Mai Huong