Promoting economic cooperation is an important driving force for relations between ASEAN and its partners.

This morning, July 11, continuing the working program within the framework of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting Week, the ASEAN+1 Foreign Ministers' Meetings with the UK and the European Union (EU) and the 15th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting took place. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the Conferences.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son led the Vietnamese delegation to attend conferences within the framework of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting Week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In his role as coordinator of the relationship, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bui Thanh Son and UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Development David Lammy co-chaired the ASEAN-UK Summit. The UK reaffirmed its strong commitment to ASEAN, supported ASEAN's central role in maintaining peace and stability in the region; wished to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN for the goal of dynamic, creative and sustainable development; and effectively responded to changes in the context of reshaping the global strategic balance.

Speaking on behalf of ASEAN, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasized that the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership has made many impressive developments in a short time after its establishment in 2021. ASEAN highly appreciated the UK's active participation in all three pillars of politics -security, economy and culture-society; 94.48% of the action lines under the Action Plan for the period 2022-2026 have been implemented.

ASEAN welcomed the UK as an official observer to the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) Experts’ Group on Military Medicine and Maritime Security, and acknowledged the UK’s active contribution to promoting the Women, Peace and Security Agenda as well as its support in the areas of cyber security, combating transnational crime, online fraud, human trafficking and drug-related crimes.

Speaking at the ASEAN-UK Conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasized that the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership has had many impressive developments in a short time after its establishment in 2021.

The Ministers stressed the importance of cooperation in innovation, developing small and medium enterprises, and promoting an inclusive digital economy. ASEAN highly appreciated the UK's support programs such as the Economic Integration Program and Digital Innovation Partnership, as well as the UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week, which have contributed significantly to ASEAN's efforts in developing a digital economy framework. In particular, the UK committed to contribute £17 million in concessional green finance to the ASEAN Green Finance Fund and up to £40 million to the ASEAN-UK Green Transformation Fund.

In the socio-cultural area, ASEAN welcomed the launch of the ASEAN-UK Scholarship Programme for Women in STEM and the newly launched ASEAN Chevening Scholarship Programme as well as the continuation of the ASEAN-UK Programme to support girls’ education, contributing to expanding access to education. ASEAN also welcomed the UK’s efforts to explore potential areas of cooperation with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management, and highly appreciated the UK’s humanitarian assistance to Myanmar following the March 28, 2025 earthquake, with an initial contribution of £10 million and a total expected support of up to £25 million.

UK Foreign Secretary and International Development Secretary David Lammy reaffirmed the UK's strong commitment to ASEAN, supporting ASEAN's central role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

At the ASEAN-EU Summit, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas emphasized that ASEAN and the EU are trusted partners, sharing values, interests and common responsibilities in strengthening the international order based on rules, multilateralism and international law, especially in the context of current geopolitical and economic instability. ASEAN and the EU need to continue promoting the regional integration process, strengthening the connection between the two regions, towards the milestone of celebrating 50 years of bilateral relations in 2027.

The two sides acknowledged the effective implementation of the ASEAN-EU Action Plan for 2023-2027, with more than 60% of the action lines implemented. The EU is currently ASEAN's third largest trading partner and second largest investor, with trade turnover reaching nearly 293 billion USD and FDI inflows reaching 20 billion USD by 2024. The countries highly appreciated the effective implementation of the Trade and Investment Cooperation Program, the ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement as well as the EU's support in the fields of digital transformation, green economic development, inclusive and sustainable growth. The conference also affirmed to promote the development of a long-term ASEAN-EU regional FTA.

The Ministers agreed to enhance coordination in the areas of climate change response, education, gender equality, disaster management, and the prevention of transnational and cybercrime. ASEAN highly appreciated the ASEAN-EU-Germany Climate Action Plan with a contribution of 6 million Euros to enhance ASEAN's leadership in regional cooperation on climate, renewable energy and energy efficiency. ASEAN also welcomed the EU's commitment to provide 10 billion Euros for connectivity projects through the Global Gateway Initiative to promote infrastructure investment in the region.

At the 15th EAS Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the countries affirmed the role of the EAS in strengthening multilateralism and the rules-based international order, emphasizing the need to promote a favorable environment for peace, security, stability and development, maintaining a culture of dialogue and cooperation instead of confrontation, strengthening trust and respect for international law. The countries pledged to support ASEAN's central role and support ASEAN in building the Community, and agreed to continue to improve the effectiveness of the EAS's operations in the context of rapidly changing regional and global structures, especially at the time of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the EAS's establishment.

The meeting acknowledged the progress in implementing the EAS Action Plan for the period 2024-2028, especially in the priority areas of peace-security, sustainable development, energy, digital economy, connectivity and cyber security, and agreed that the implementation of EAS cooperation in the coming time should be consistent with the ASEAN 2045 strategic orientations. The Ministers also spent time discussing in depth international and regional issues of mutual concern, including developments affecting the environment of peace, stability and cooperation in the region.

Specifically, the Ministers agreed to step up cooperation in responding to transnational crimes, ensuring cyber security and preventing cybercrime. The conference discussed enhancing trade cooperation, strengthening a fair and rules-based multilateral trading system, emphasizing the role of digital transformation, circular economy, green growth and supply chain connectivity in enhancing regional economic resilience and development. The countries welcomed ASEAN's efforts in negotiating the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) and promoting the ASEAN Power Grid. The countries also emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in food security, sustainable tourism, human resource training, healthcare, mental health as well as promoting the role and contribution of women, youth and vulnerable groups in the development process.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister emphasized the importance of promoting economic cooperation with partners, especially in priority areas of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.

Attending the Conferences, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and ASEAN countries and partners looked back and proposed cooperation orientations in the context of the region and the world undergoing many changes and challenges.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister emphasized the importance of promoting economic cooperation with partners, especially in priority areas of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 such as green transformation, digital transformation, inclusive and sustainable growth, strengthening supply chains, developing green infrastructure and enhancing the capacity of small and medium enterprises. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister emphasized that now is the right time to reconsider the proposal for the ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement on the basis of taking advantage of existing bilateral agreements, and requested the remaining EU member states to soon complete the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); at the same time, welcomed initiatives to support infrastructure for renewable energy, smart grids, innovative finance, digital capacity building, cybersecurity, data governance and artificial intelligence.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister highly appreciated educational exchange programs, scholarships and high-quality human resource training from partners such as the UK and the European Union, encouraged connections between ASEAN research centers and expert networks with partners, and supported the enhancement of medical cooperation and response to public health emergencies.

At the Conferences, Vietnam shared its views on many international and regional issues such as the East Sea, Myanmar, and the Korean Peninsula, and requested that Partners continue to support ASEAN's principled stance and efforts on the East Sea issue, fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and build an effective, substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and strive to build the East Sea into a sea of ​​peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thuc-day-hop-tac-kinh-te-la-dong-luc-quan-trong-cho-quan-he-giau-asean-voi-cac-doi-tac-320644.html