Indonesian President Joko Widodo welcomes Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to attend the 42nd ASEAN Summit.
On the morning of May 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh led a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to attend the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, a destination with rich tourism potential in Indonesia.
Opening the conference, Indonesian President Joko Widodo assessed that this ASEAN Summit took place in the context of the world economy not yet fully recovering, increasing strategic competition between major powers, and many complex and unpredictable fluctuations.
The Indonesian President asked whether ASEAN has the capacity to respond and adapt to these challenges. The Indonesian President believes that solidarity and joint efforts of all ASEAN members are prerequisites for ASEAN to strongly promote its role as a leader in regional peace and growth. For ASEAN to truly be the focal point and driving force for regional and global growth, the President suggested that ASEAN prioritize economic integration, inclusive cooperation, effectively implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), ensure food security, energy self-reliance and financial stability.
The ASEAN Secretary-General reported that the process of building the ASEAN Community has achieved positive results in all three pillars. 2022 marks a turning point for the regional economy as countries reopen, gradually recover and improve their resilience, with major contributions from manufacturing, transport and tourism. Regional growth has basically remained stable, with growth forecast at 4.7%. Faced with the impact of geopolitical fluctuations, along with many challenges and potential risks, ASEAN has shifted its strategy, taking advantage of new driving forces, through many initiatives, such as the Circular Economy Framework, Carbon Neutrality Strategy, ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, ASEAN One Health Initiative, etc.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leaders of ASEAN countries attend the 42nd ASEAN Summit.
The leaders expressed their support and emphasized the strategic significance of the theme "One ASEAN of stature: The heart of growth", demonstrating the vitality and position of ASEAN, the driving force for regional and global economic growth. The leaders pledged to promote ASEAN economic integration, increase intra-bloc trade and investment, strengthen supply chain connectivity, and enhance the capacity to ensure financial stability, food security, energy security, etc.
The leaders especially emphasized that the process of building the ASEAN Community must be truly people-oriented and people-centered, directing specialized agencies to be proactive and responsive to opportunities and challenges, and to resolutely and synchronously implement initiatives, especially those that bring practical benefits and ensure equal benefits for the people.
In that spirit, the leaders adopted the main elements of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, outlining the future of the Community in the next 20 years, with the goal and aspiration of stronger development, worthy of ASEAN. The leaders believe that the values of solidarity and cooperation will continue and be promoted, ASEAN will become increasingly self-reliant and adaptive in a changing world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pointed out three core issues that determine ASEAN's identity, value, vitality and prestige: maintaining independence and strategic autonomy, striving to become the growth center of the region and the world, and adapting better and better to external fluctuations.
Next, ASEAN leaders adopted 10 documents guiding ASEAN cooperation in many fields, notably the Joint Statement towards the ASEAN Community Vision after 2025, developing an electric vehicle ecosystem in the region, the ASEAN One Health Initiative, promoting regional payment connectivity and increasing transactions in local currencies.
ASEAN leaders also issued a statement condemning the attack on the humanitarian aid convoy, including staff from the ASEAN Disaster Emergency Coordination Centre (AHA Centre) and the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Monitoring Group.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated President Joko Widodo and Indonesia on assuming the role of ASEAN Chair 2023. The Prime Minister expressed his joy that ASEAN remains an economic bright spot; however, he also acknowledged that challenges facing ASEAN are increasingly complex, both internally and externally. Accordingly, the Prime Minister raised three core issues that determine ASEAN's identity, value, vitality and prestige, namely maintaining independence, strategic autonomy, striving to become the center of growth, and adapting better and better to external fluctuations.
The Prime Minister emphasized that unity is an invincible strength, and must be demonstrated through will and concrete actions. Strengthening unity and solidarity is a fundamental task for an independent and self-reliant ASEAN.
In the context of the global economy facing many risks and uncertainties, to promote recovery and sustainable development, the Prime Minister emphasized that expanding the intra-bloc market is an urgent requirement. On that basis, the Prime Minister proposed efforts to negotiate an upgrade of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, synchronously and resolutely implementing regional connectivity projects in terms of institutions, infrastructure and human resources, creating a qualitative change in the investment, business and tourism environment.
The Prime Minister suggested that cooperation in digital economy, digital government, and circular economy should be given attention and promoted together with connecting the power grid, developing renewable energy, and soon building long-term strategies for training high-quality human resources, through implementing mutual recognition agreements on labor in a number of occupations and considering expanding the application of the agreement in new occupations.
Affirming the core spirit of ASEAN is to put people at the center, the goal and driving force of building the Community, the Prime Minister emphasized narrowing the development gap, especially in remote areas and sub-regions. Sub-regional cooperation needs to be linked with ASEAN cooperation programs in all fields, opening up a wider space and ensuring a better life for the people.
The Prime Minister shared that difficulties and challenges always exist, but difficulties do not discourage ASEAN, ASEAN must be stronger. To realize the goal and aspiration of peace, security, stability and prosperity, the Prime Minister suggested that ASEAN members join hands to arouse the will to be self-reliant and united, to unleash development resources and initiate breakthrough ideas for Community building, helping ASEAN to break through and become the growth center of the region and the world.
Next, ASEAN leaders had a dialogue with representatives of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, youth, businesses and the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Vision 2025.
According to baochinhphu.vn
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