The opening session puts the ASEAN 2025 'ship' on the move, towards an inclusive and sustainable future

ASEAN 2025 is of great significance to the development of the Community as well as Vietnam's participation in ASEAN. Despite the complicated developments in the world, the ASEAN 2025 ship has started to roll with excitement, opening with the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat.

A view of the ASEAN 2025 logo at the Langkawi International Convention Centre (Malaysia). ASEAN Foreign Ministers have begun arriving in Langkawi for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat. (Source: Malaymail)

"Inclusive and Sustainable"

According to the ASEAN Malaysia 2025 page, this year, ASEAN celebrates the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the ASEAN Community with the destination of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025. Over the past decade, ASEAN has achieved important milestones in promoting peace , stability and prosperity in the region.

To maintain momentum and chart the region’s future course, ASEAN has taken a bold step by formulating the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, which is expected to be adopted at the 46th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Malaysia’s theme for its ASEAN Chairmanship 2025 is “Inclusive and Sustainable”. This theme reflects ASEAN’s aspiration to grow together, ensuring that no one is left behind; affirming ASEAN members’ confidence in their commitment to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region, within an inclusive, sustainable and future-oriented framework.

Malaysia's key priorities as ASEAN Chair 2025 include:

Firstly, to strengthen ASEAN’s centrality by promoting strategic trust with its partners through dialogues and diplomatic activities in the spirit of goodwill. In addition to cooperation among member states, Malaysia will also strive to expand economic cooperation with ASEAN’s external partners.

Second , promote greater engagement towards increasing intra-ASEAN trade and investment. Malaysia will ensure that ASEAN can capitalise on advances in science, technology and innovation, and harness the benefits of digital transformation and new technologies.

Third , ensuring that inclusiveness and sustainability are central to ASEAN Community building efforts will require further efforts to narrow development gaps and inequalities, improve living standards, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Inclusiveness and sustainability are two mutually dependent and reinforcing elements. Inclusiveness and sustainability will be integrated into all three pillars of ASEAN cooperation.

Close integration and cooperation

In a recent interview with Xinhua , Malaysian Economic Affairs Minister Rafizi Ramli said that the role of ASEAN Chair 2025 will boost the country's efforts towards deeper regional integration, facilitating economic and trade activities.

According to Minister Ramli, ASEAN not only maintains neutrality in the face of geopolitical tensions but also prioritizes prosperous development goals that benefit the lives of the people of the Association.

"Closer integration and cooperation is a natural response of ASEAN countries to global changes," Minister Ramli emphasized. ASEAN is a large and potential market, not only promoting intra-bloc cooperation but also strengthening cooperation with partners in the region and around the world.

Minister Ramli said that as ASEAN's manufacturing and technology base grows, along with a consumer market expected to grow to about 700 million people in the coming years, ASEAN people will benefit from chip manufacturing and the construction of data centers.

Taking this trend forward, Malaysia recently launched the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Johor, a southern state of Malaysia, is working closely with Singapore, leveraging infrastructure connections to boost the economy and reduce non-tariff barriers. Minister Ramli believes that this model can be replicated further in ASEAN to promote strong intra-regional economic integration in the future.

In addition, Minister Ramli also mentioned the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) model, a regional power connectivity initiative with the desire to form a synchronously integrated Southeast Asian power grid, thereby supporting the digital economy. Digitalization is an inevitable roadmap that ASEAN members need to strongly promote. "Whatever sector needs digitalization, we must digitalize," Minister Ramli emphasized.

Host Malaysia is ready for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat from January 18-19. (Source: ASEAN Malaysia 2025)

Orientation meeting

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM Retreat) in Langkawi, Malaysia from 18-19 January is the high-level event that kicks off the ASEAN Year 2025. The meeting will discuss Malaysia’s key priorities as ASEAN Chair 2025 under the theme of “Inclusiveness and Sustainability” and outline the agenda for the year. Timor-Leste’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, will attend as an observer.

On this occasion, ASEAN Foreign Ministers will also discuss the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and other important issues related to Community building, ASEAN's foreign relations as well as views on regional and international issues of common concern.

The ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) is scheduled to take place on January 18. More than 200 delegates from 10 ASEAN member states and observer country Timor-Leste are expected to attend the meeting. There will be over 300 important meetings and programs taking place across Malaysia during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025. This will be Malaysia’s fifth time as ASEAN Chair, having previously held the role in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015.

At the invitation of Malaysian Foreign Minister Utama Haji Mohamad Bin Haji Hasan, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son will attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat. Within the framework of the conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son is expected to have bilateral meetings with foreign leaders of ASEAN countries. This conference is an important step, contributing to enhancing Vietnam's role in ASEAN, as well as actively contributing to the common goals of the region.

The main driving force behind development

Sharing with TG&VN , Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato' Tan Yang Thai emphasized that this year is of great significance to both Malaysia and Vietnam. Malaysia is the ASEAN Chair in 2025 and Vietnam is celebrating 30 years of ASEAN membership. Vietnam's positive contributions to regional stability, trade and multilateral cooperation have further strengthened Vietnam's position as a key driving force for development in ASEAN and, more broadly, the region and the world.

"Vietnam is emerging as a dynamic and influential member, not only within ASEAN but also in the international arena. Its impressive economic growth, strategic geographical location and proactive engagement in regional and international issues have contributed to Vietnam's increasingly prominent position. Vietnam's commitment to innovation, sustainable development and inclusive growth is commendable, as these commitments lay a solid foundation for long-term progress," said Ambassador Dato' Tan Yang Thai.

Vietnam's economy has recently been forecast to grow at the top of ASEAN. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the end of last year revised Vietnam's GDP growth in 2025 to 6.6% compared to the previous forecast of 6.2%, the highest GDP growth in Southeast Asia.

According to ADB, Vietnam's GDP in 2025 could grow impressively thanks to a strong recovery in manufacturing, trade and supportive fiscal measures.

Similarly, the World Bank (WB) raised its forecast for Vietnam's economic growth to 6.5% in 2025. Standard Chartered Bank also recently updated its forecast for Vietnam's economic outlook in 2025 as positive with a growth rate of 6.7%.

UOB also raised its 2025 GDP growth forecast for Vietnam to 7% from 6.6%. The decision comes after the economy grew 7.09% last year, far exceeding the market consensus of 6.7% and the target of 6.5%.

With such expectations, Vietnam will certainly make increasingly stronger contributions to the goals of intra-bloc economic integration and promote cooperation with ASEAN's external partners, contributing to the realization of the ASEAN 2025 agenda in the spirit of "Inclusiveness and Sustainability".