Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends ASEAN-GCC Summit

Thủ tướng Phạm Minh Chính dự Hội nghị Cấp cao ASEAN-GCC - Ảnh 1. — Prime Minister and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman welcomed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and heads of delegations attending the Conference - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

After 33 years of establishing relations (1990) and 14 years (2009) through the Joint Vision, this is the first time ASEAN and GCC have held a Summit.

This summit is a historic milestone in the relationship between ASEAN and the GCC, bringing the relationship between ASEAN and the GCC to a new height, for peace, cooperation and mutual development.

According to the program, the Conference is expected to discuss, review and orient the future of ASEAN-GCC cooperation, exchange on regional and international issues, adopt Conference documents such as the ASEAN-GCC Cooperation Framework (2024-2028) and adopt a Joint Statement...

Previously, on the afternoon of October 19, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the GCC Headquarters, met with GCC Secretary General Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi and witnessed the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the GCC Secretariat.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the role of the GCC and affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to further promoting mutually beneficial cooperation with the GCC and its member countries. The Prime Minister stressed that Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to promote ASEAN-GCC cooperation, the two most dynamically developing regions in the world, for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

The GCC is the leading regional organization in the Middle East, consisting of six member states in the Gulf region: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. The total area of the member states is 2.67 million km2, with a population of 56 million people. The GCC was established in May 1981, headquartered in the capital Riyadh of Saudi Arabia.

Economically, with the advantage of oil and gas reserves (4/6 GCC countries are OPEC members, of which Saudi Arabia and UAE have a leading role in this organization), GCC countries have very developed economies, with GDP reaching about 2,000 billion USD in 2022, average income per capita at a high level, averaging about 38,447 USD/year.

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