Asia-Africa International Forum 2025: Identifying Challenges, Enhancing Resilience

Diễn đàn quốc tế Á - Phi 2025: Nhận diện thách thức, tăng sức chống chịu

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ta Minh Tuan, Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, delivered a welcoming speech at the Forum. (Source: ISAWAAS)

Over 100 Vietnamese and international delegates gathered at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences auditorium on the afternoon of September 9th to attend the first Asia-Africa International Forum (AAIF 2025) themed “Adapting to Global Challenges in a New Context”.

Organized by the Institute for South Asian, West Asian and African Studies (under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences), AAIF 2025 coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference (1955) - an event that marked the formation of Asian-African solidarity and affirmed the position of developing countries in the post-Cold War international order.

In his welcoming remarks, Associate Professor Dr. Ta Minh Tuan, Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, emphasized that with a population accounting for more than half of humanity, abundant resources, and ancient cultures, Asia and Africa have enormous potential to become important drivers of global growth and innovation. However, that potential can only be fully realized if our nations know how to cooperate, adapt to challenges together, and seize opportunities in the new era.

Welcoming the initiative of the Institute for South Asian, West Asian and African Studies to organize the Forum amidst strong global challenges, Associate Professor Dr. Ta Minh Tuan expressed his hope that AAIF 2025 would achieve many positive results, providing valuable scientific arguments and policy recommendations, and strengthening Asia-Africa cooperation in a sustainable and effective manner.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Trung, Director of the Institute for South Asian, West Asian and African Studies, delivered the opening remarks at the Forum. (Source: ISAWAAS)

In his opening remarks, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Trung, Director of the Institute for South Asian, West Asian and African Studies, clearly stated that the central issue facing Asian and African countries today is how to both adapt to the new global context and proactively contribute to shaping a fair, inclusive, and sustainable international order.

To "determine the way," AAIF 2025 serves as a forum for experts, scholars, diplomats , and policymakers from Asia and Africa to exchange academic and policy ideas, share experiences, propose solutions, and contribute to fostering solidarity, friendship, and practical, effective cooperation between countries of the two continents.

AAIF 2025 is a key academic initiative aimed at promoting dialogue, sharing experiences, and seeking multilateral cooperation solutions among Asian and African countries, as well as with the international community.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Trung, inclusive multilateralism and Southern Hemisphere cooperation have become strategic methods to help developing countries maintain autonomy and enhance their response capabilities.

Meanwhile, Asia and Africa share many similarities in their positions and potential. Asia is currently the leading engine of growth, accounting for over 40% of global GDP. Africa is the youngest continent, rich in resources and markets, with rapid urbanization and digital transformation. Both regions play a crucial role in maritime routes, supply chains, and the global economic and security order.

Dr. Diana Sfetlana Stoica, Political Science Specialist at the Ubuntu Center for African Studies, Timisoara, presented a paper at the ISAWAAS International Forum 2025 on September 9, 2025. (Source: ISAWAAS)

The forum brought together many international scholars and experts participating both in person and online, including: Dr. Diana Sfetlana Stoica (Ubuntu Centre for African Studies, Romania), Prof. Tomoomi Mori (Setsunan University, Japan), Dr. Philani Mthembu (Executive Director of the Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa), Prof. Alvin Ang (Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies, Brunei)...

Speakers from various perspectives shared the common view that the world is entering the second decade of the 21st century with profound and complex changes. Crises are not only successive but also overlapping, yet it is precisely amidst these challenges that the Asia-Africa region is emerging as a new engine of global growth and transformation, thanks to its advantages of a young population, abundant resources, and growing internal demand.

The discussions focused on identifying prominent challenges in the two continents, ranging from climate change and health security to traditional and non-traditional security instability, while also analyzing the potential for cooperation and experience sharing to enhance national resilience.

Speakers at the roundtable discussion. (Source: ISAWAAS)

The roundtable discussion, moderated by Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Cong Hoang, Head of the Middle East and West Asia Research Department, Institute for South Asia, West Asia and Africa Studies, was attended by the Ambassadors of India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to Vietnam, as well as Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and former President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, along with many experts and scholars.

Vietnamese and international diplomats alike agree on the need to strengthen economic linkages, effectively utilize trade agreements such as the AfCFTA in Africa and the RCEP in Asia; build an Asia-Africa trade corridor, both in terms of physical and digital infrastructure; and promote cooperation in science and technology, education, and multilateral institutional reforms to ensure the voice of developing countries.

Some delegates emphasized the need to institutionalize the Asia-Africa Forum into an annual mechanism, with a Secretariat and specialized working groups, in order to translate political declarations into concrete actions.

Delegates attending the 2025 Asia-Africa International Forum. (Source: ISAWAAS)

Vietnam is considered a positive bridge in Asia-Africa relations. Currently, our country has established diplomatic relations with all 55 African countries and the African Union (AU), and is an observer of the AU.

Since the mid-1990s, Vietnam has collaborated with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Africa under South-South and trilateral cooperation models to transfer agricultural development technology and alleviate poverty in Africa (Senegal, Mozambique, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Mali, Namibia, Republic of Guinea, Benin, Republic of Congo...). Among these, the Vietnam-FAO-Senegal trilateral cooperation model is considered a prime example.

Furthermore, Vietnam actively participates in United Nations peacekeeping forces in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Abyei. Vietnam is ready to share its experience in agricultural development, poverty reduction, digital transformation, and international integration with its Asian and African friends. This demonstrates its spirit of cooperation, responsibility, and contribution to the common development of humanity.

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