The 13th ALAWMM Conference: Towards a Fair, Safe, and Prosperous ASEAN

(Chinhphu.vn) - On November 14-15, 2025, the 13th ASEAN Justice Ministers' Meeting (ALAWMM) was held under the chairmanship of Mr. Fredderick A. Vida - Minister of Justice of the Republic of the Philippines, Chairman of ALAWMM 13 and with the participation of representatives of 11 ASEAN countries, the Ministry of Justice of Japan and the ASEAN Secretariat.

Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh speaks at the first ASEAN-Japan Justice Ministers' Meeting. Photo: BTP

After 2 days of active and urgent work, the 13th ALAWMM Conference took place successfully and achieved many good results.

Completion of negotiations and signing of the ASEAN Extradition Agreement

At the 13th ALAWMM, the Heads of Delegations of ASEAN countries adopted the Joint Communique of the 13th ASEAN Justice Ministers' Meeting (Joint Communique) with some main contents. Accordingly, the Conference acknowledged ASEAN's completion of the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and welcomed the adoption of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and the Strategic Plans.

The Conference welcomed Timor-Leste as the 11th Member of ASEAN and its first participation in the 13th ALAWMM as an official member of ASEAN.

The Conference highly appreciated the results achieved in ASEAN legal and judicial cooperation, especially the completion of negotiations and signing of the ASEAN Extradition Agreement.

At the same time, the Conference acknowledged new steps in harmonizing trade laws, crime prevention, judicial assistance and enhancing dialogue with ASEAN partners, including the effective implementation of the ASEAN-Japan Cooperation Program in the field of law and justice.

The meeting also welcomed the collaboration between the ASEAN Secretariat, CACJ and ALA in promoting the rule of law, and thanked Thailand and Singapore for offering to host ASLOM and ALAWMM in the coming years.

Many bilateral meetings promote law and justice between Vietnam and other countries

Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Cambodia. Photo: BTP

On the sidelines of the 13th ALAWMM Conference, Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh had a number of bilateral meetings. Specifically, on the morning of November 14, Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh had a bilateral meeting with Mr. Koeut Rith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Cambodia within the framework of the 13th ALAWMM Conference.

Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh suggested that the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice and the Cambodian Ministry of Justice actively promote the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation to replace the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2008 between the two Ministries, due to the current changes in the world and regional situation.

In addition, Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh proposed that the two Ministries of Justice resume the mechanism of the Judicial Conference of provinces sharing a border, which has been interrupted since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some objective reasons...

Responding to Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh's words, Mr. Koeut Rith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Cambodia, affirmed his desire to continue promoting legal and judicial cooperation between Cambodia and Vietnam through various forms, especially the early organization of the Judicial Conference of provinces sharing a border in 2026.

Also on November 14, Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh had a bilateral meeting with Mr. Edwin Tong SC, Minister of Law of Singapore. The two sides agreed to continue to maintain and develop the mechanism of the Vietnam - Singapore Joint Committee on cooperation in the field of law and justice. Mr. Edwin Tong SC reiterated the international treaties that the Parties need to participate in to create a safe and equal legal environment, promote international investment and cooperation between investors.

In addition, the Singaporean Minister of Law hopes that Vietnam will soon study and consider joining the Singapore Convention on Mediation, and at the same time invites Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh to visit and work in Singapore as soon as possible.

Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh thanked the Singaporean Minister of Law for the invitation and acknowledged Singapore's proposals. Vietnam is in the process of conducting internal consultations and will soon have a response on joining the Singapore Convention on Mediation in the near future.

Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh met with the Japanese Minister of Justice. Photo: BTP

On the morning of November 15, Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh and Mr. Hiraguchi Hiroshi, Minister of Justice of Japan, had a bilateral meeting before the first ASEAN - Japan Justice Ministers' Meeting (ALAWMM - Japan).

Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh congratulated Mr. Hiraguchi Hiroshi on his appointment as Minister of Justice of Japan and invited the Minister to visit Vietnam.

Besides, Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh discussed a number of main contents, including the proposal that Vietnam and the Japan International Cooperation Agency continue to implement the JICA Project in the new phase (2027-2030), which is a project that brings practical value to Vietnam from the support of the Japanese side.

Along with the effective implementation of the LEAD Cooperation Program between the two Ministries of Justice, it is expected that in March 2026, Vietnam will organize a survey delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Justice to work in Japan. The Minister hopes that the two Ministries of Justice will continue to maintain this cooperation model in the future.

The Minister also asked the Japanese Ministry of Justice to pay attention, support and assist the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice in successfully organizing the ASEAN Law Forum in 2026 with the theme: "Application of artificial intelligence (AI) in law-making and enforcement in the digital age".

Mr. Hiraguchi Hiroshi affirmed that the LEAD cooperation program between the two ministries will continue to be implemented systematically. Regarding the JICA project, the Japanese Ministry of Justice will discuss with the Japan International Cooperation Agency and will respond to the Vietnamese side.

In addition, the Japanese Ministry of Justice acknowledged Vietnam's proposal for assistance in organizing the ASEAN Law Forum in 2026 and will study and consult internally to come up with a suitable support plan for Vietnam.

At the ALAWMM-Japan Conference, in order to implement the Joint Statement of the ASEAN-Japan Justice Ministers' Special Meeting and the ASEAN-G7 Justice Ministers' Special Meeting held in Japan in July 2023, the Japanese Ministry of Justice made a new proposal on "ASEAN-Japan Cooperation Dialogue on Reducing Recidivism". This proposal received support from ASEAN member countries.

On the Vietnamese side, Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh delivered a speech, emphasizing that Vietnam sincerely thanks Japan for its very practical support for ASEAN and highly appreciates the efforts of ASEAN and Japan in implementing legal and judicial cooperation activities between the two sides, as well as between ASEAN and the G7, including the ASEAN-Japan Cooperation Program in the field of law and justice and the ASEAN-G7 Future Leaders Forum.

These activities have created opportunities for knowledge exchange, enhanced mutual understanding, strengthened partnerships and promoted the search for common solutions to new legal challenges. Vietnam is committed to actively coordinating with ASEAN countries, Japan and the G7 to continue effectively implementing these cooperative activities.

In principle, Vietnam welcomes the above initiative and proposal of the Japanese Ministry of Justice. The content of the initiative aims to make an important contribution to ensuring national security and order, while promoting the protection of human rights.

Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh said that Vietnam is currently conducting internal consultations on this content and will soon have an official response. Vietnam is ready to coordinate with ASEAN member countries and Japan to effectively implement this initiative after the proposal receives consensus from ASEAN countries.

The 13th ASEAN Justice Ministers Meeting concluded successfully, completing the entire agenda. The outstanding success of this Conference was that ASEAN countries agreed and signed the ASEAN Agreement on Extradition.

In addition, new initiatives on the transfer of convicted persons, the ASEAN Conference on Criminal Justice, harmonization of trade laws... continue to be discussed in depth.

At this Conference, Vietnam continued to demonstrate its proactive role in proposing the initiative to organize the ASEAN Law Forum 2026 as well as updating the Initiative on enhancing mutual legal assistance in civil matters.

The positive results from this Conference will create an important premise for implementing specific initiatives and cooperation activities both within and outside the bloc, fulfilling the goal of strengthening the rule of law, towards a fair, safe and prosperous ASEAN.

Dieu Anh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/hoi-nghi-alawmm-lan-thu-13-huong-toi-mot-asean-cong-bang-an-toan-thinh-vuong-102251115164139942.htm