Reviewing preparations for the series of ASEAN Summits and between ASEAN and its partners

Vietnam will closely coordinate with ASEAN Chair 2025 Malaysia, ASEAN member countries and partners to contribute to the success of the 47th ASEAN Summit and related Summits next October.

ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting. (Photo: Bao Chi)

On September 9 and 10, the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of ASEAN, ASEAN+3 (APT) and East Asia Summit (EAS) took place in Port Dickson, Malaysia to review all preparations for the 47th ASEAN Summit and related Summits to take place in October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur.

The Vietnamese delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang, Head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam, actively participated and made many important contributions to the Conferences.

Comprehensive review, full readiness for Summits

Within the framework of the Conferences, Senior Officials from 10 ASEAN countries, Timor-Leste, and partners China, Japan, South Korea, the US, India, Australia, New Zealand and Russia, discussed and thoroughly reviewed the plan for the 47th ASEAN Summit and related Summits, especially the agenda and list of more than 80 documents expected to be presented to the Leaders.

Accordingly, under the theme “Inclusive and Sustainable” of ASEAN in 2025, the Leaders will attend nearly 40 activities, discussing a series of strategic issues to promote regional cooperation, from politics , security, to economics, investment, connectivity, culture, society, digital transformation, innovation, energy security, food security, education, etc., with the goal of building an inclusive, sustainable and people-centered ASEAN.

In addition, the ASEAN SOM Conference discussed the process and procedures for preparing for the admission of Timor-Leste to become the 11th member of ASEAN in October 2025; agreed on the policy of continuing to support Timor-Leste in improving its capacity to fully meet the obligations and responsibilities of an ASEAN member as soon as possible.

The countries exchanged and considered requests to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) from many partners, affirming the growing role and value of the Treaty, especially in promoting dialogue, cooperation, and resolving disputes by peaceful means.

Faced with intertwined geopolitical and geo-economic challenges, the countries agreed to step up measures to enhance ASEAN's response capacity, including promoting closer coordination between the two pillars of ASEAN Politics-Security and Economy. ASEAN will also continue to promote mutual support and complementarity between the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

With partners, ASEAN continues to affirm its central role in ASEAN-initiated and -led mechanisms, deepening and increasing cooperation in mutually beneficial areas, including digital transformation, green economy, energy transition, etc.; at the same time, continuing to comprehensively review foreign relations to improve operational efficiency, promptly adapting to rapid and complex changes in the region and the world, for the common interests of ASEAN, partners and the region.

At the ASEAN+3 SOM Conference, partners from China, Japan and South Korea proposed many measures to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN in economics, finance, currency, energy security, food security, sustainable development, etc.

The countries reviewed the implementation of the ASEAN+3 Work Plan for the 2023-2027 period, pledging to continue effectively implementing projects on natural disaster management, transnational crime prevention, women's empowerment, promotion and protection of children's rights, climate change response, etc. in the Work Plans for the following years.

At the SOM EAS Conference, countries emphasized that after 20 years of establishment and development, EAS continues to affirm its role as the leading forum for Leaders to discuss political-security and strategic issues in the region.

Faced with a constantly changing world, countries need to join hands to build the EAS into an effective mechanism to handle emerging security and development challenges, especially through measures to build trust, dialogue, cooperation, narrow differences, increase commonalities, comply with international law, and support a rules-based regional structure with ASEAN playing a central role.

Delegates agreed to focus on promoting cooperation in the fields of inclusive digital economy, energy, transnational crime prevention, disaster prevention and response, and cultural cooperation.

At the Conferences, countries also discussed many regional and international issues of common concern such as the East Sea, Myanmar, the Middle East, etc., emphasizing the settlement of disputes and conflicts by peaceful means, on the basis of international law, the UN Charter, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the spirit of the TAC in the conduct between countries.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang, Head of Vietnam ASEAN SOM at the Conference. (Photo: Bao Chi)

Vietnam participates proactively, responsibly and actively for the common goals of the region.

At the Conferences, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang, Head of Vietnam ASEAN SOM, affirmed that Vietnam will closely coordinate with ASEAN Chair 2025 Malaysia, ASEAN member countries and partners to contribute to the success of the 47th ASEAN Summit and related Summits in October.

Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang emphasized the importance of maintaining solidarity, strengthening ASEAN's centrality and leadership role in the region, effectively responding to emerging traditional and non-traditional security challenges, in the context of the region facing many complex challenges; at the same time, ASEAN needs to consolidate and enhance ASEAN's institutional capacity to ensure effective implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 as well as increase cooperation with partners in the new context, in which the complementarity between mechanisms established and led by ASEAN is encouraged, creating a more comprehensive, harmonious and effective cooperation network, practically serving the interests of people in the region.

Highlighting the Vietnamese Government's policy of supporting Timor-Leste in enhancing its capacity to soon fully fulfill its responsibilities as a member country, the Deputy Minister affirmed that Vietnam is ready to share its experience from its 30-year journey of participating in ASEAN to support Timor-Leste in assuming the responsibilities of an ASEAN member country.

The Deputy Minister also proposed many measures to promote cooperation within ASEAN and between ASEAN and its partners, especially in enhancing economic cooperation, connectivity, science and technology, digital transformation, energy transformation, etc.

In his role as coordinator of ASEAN-New Zealand and ASEAN-UK relations, the Deputy Minister proposed measures to promote cooperation with the two partners in the coming time, especially the development of documents guiding cooperation and identifying priority areas of cooperation.

Discussing international and regional issues, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang affirmed that Vietnam supports promoting dialogue, cooperation, and resolving disputes by peaceful means, in compliance with international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, with the ultimate goal of ensuring a peaceful, secure, and stable environment to serve the development process of countries and regions.

On the occasion of the ASEAN SOM, ASEAN+3 and EAS Conferences, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang had bilateral meetings with SOM Heads of ASEAN countries and partners to discuss issues of concern in bilateral cooperation as well as to strengthen coordination at multilateral forums.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ra-soat-cong-tac-chuan-bi-cho-chuoi-cac-hoi-nghi-cap-cao-asean-va-giau-asean-voi-cac-doi-tac-327294.html