Deputy Prime Minister and Minister, could you please tell us about the outstanding results of General Secretary To Lam's state visit to Indonesia, official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat and official visit to Singapore ?
Continuing to implement the Party and State's proactive foreign policy of active international integration, with the policy of attaching importance to developing relations with neighboring countries and countries in the region, General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, paid a state visit to Indonesia, an official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat and an official visit to Singapore from March 9 to 13, 2025. The visit was a great success, achieving all the set goals at a high level. Both countries and the ASEAN Secretariat attached great importance to the visit, giving the General Secretary, his wife and the delegation a solemn reception with the highest protocol and a rich and practical work program. In addition, the members of the delegation also had very effective meetings and worked with partners in both countries.
This is the first visit by a Vietnamese General Secretary to Indonesia in nearly 8 years (since August 2017), to Singapore in nearly 13 years (since September 2012) and the first official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat. The visit is of historical significance as Vietnam has simultaneously upgraded relations with two countries in ASEAN, thereby deepening Vietnam's cooperative relations with the two countries, contributing more effectively to the common house of ASEAN. Up to now, Vietnam is the only country in ASEAN with which Indonesia and Singapore have established a comprehensive strategic partnership. The historical significance of the visit also lies in the fact that for the first time a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam has visited the ASEAN Secretariat, highlighting the strategic importance of ASEAN to Vietnam, while affirming Vietnam's consistent policy of contributing more proactively and responsibly to the common cause of ASEAN.
During the 5 days, the General Secretary had more than 40 activities with meetings, talks, exchanges with various sectors, policy statements, meetings with the Vietnamese community in the two countries and visits to a number of economic and cultural establishments. On this occasion, ministries, branches, localities, and enterprises of Vietnam and the two countries signed many cooperation agreements in many fields, including education and training, transnational crime prevention, fisheries, digital economy, digital transformation, green transformation, finance, etc.
In Indonesia , with the foundation of the traditional friendship laid by President Ho Chi Minh and President Sukarno, with many similarities in history and culture, sharing common values, and a common vision of striving to become a developed, high-income country by 2045, the year both countries celebrate their 100th anniversary of founding, the two sides agreed to upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This is a milestone, the crystallization of 70 years of diplomatic relations and more than 10 years of Strategic Partnership. The two sides agreed to continue to deepen political trust, promptly build an Action Program to effectively exploit and enhance cooperation in all fields; deepen economic cooperation, striving to soon reach 18 billion USD in trade turnover; further promote defense and security cooperation; Strengthen cooperation in new areas such as green economy, digital economy, innovation, energy transition, electric vehicle ecosystem development, e-commerce, smart delivery, digital payment, science and technology, digital transformation, AI, and halal products. The two leaders agreed to promote people-to-people exchanges, especially among the younger generation.
For the ASEAN Secretariat, the visit is a clear demonstration of ASEAN's important position in Vietnam's foreign policy, and Vietnam's commitment to continue to contribute responsibly to the process of building the ASEAN Community, especially in the context of ASEAN preparing to enter a new stage of development with a proactive mindset and readiness to adapt to all opportunities and challenges of the times.
Taking place at the time of the 30th anniversary of Vietnam joining ASEAN, the General Secretary's visit has profound significance, demonstrating Vietnam's consistent motto in participating in ASEAN: being proactive, positive, responsible, and making every effort for a united, self-reliant, and developed ASEAN Community, while affirming that ASEAN continues to be the top priority in Vietnam's foreign policy in the new era.
For Singapore , the visit took place in the context of the Vietnam-Singapore relationship developing well after more than 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations. The two countries' senior leaders affirmed their importance and high priority for deepening the friendship and trust, expanding the scope of existing cooperation between the two countries. General Secretary To Lam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong agreed to upgrade the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, creating new momentum for all-round cooperation between the two countries. The two sides agreed to enhance political trust; expand and deepen economic, trade and investment cooperation; promote cooperation in digital transformation, innovation, green economy, clean energy; strengthen cooperation in the fields of defense - security, culture, education, tourism and people-to-people exchange; expand the VSIP 2.0 network towards innovation, low carbon emissions, strengthen cooperation in the fields of digital transformation and emerging technologies; Promote cultural and sports exchanges and youth exchanges to enhance understanding and friendship between the people of the two countries.
During the talks and meetings, General Secretary To Lam and the leaders of Indonesia, Singapore and the ASEAN Secretariat had open and frank discussions on regional and international issues; agreed to strengthen coordination at regional and international forums and, together with ASEAN countries, promote cooperation to successfully build the ASEAN Community by 2045.
It can be said that the visit has contributed to strengthening the solidarity and central role of ASEAN in the regional structure. Indonesia and Singapore, as the founding countries of ASEAN and the most developed economies in the bloc, with Indonesia also being a member of the G20 group, are both important partners in the effort to maintain ASEAN's cohesion in the face of external challenges. The visit opens up opportunities for Vietnam to exchange and share development experiences from both countries. Indonesia, with its development strategy based on a large domestic market, and Singapore, with its open, export-oriented and high-tech economic model, and its position as a regional innovation center, can support Vietnam in its era of development. The visit also contributes to strengthening the relationship between our Party and the ruling parties and political parties in Indonesia and Singapore, creating an important political foundation for the relationship between Vietnam and the two countries.
The Indonesian and Singaporean press are very interested in the visit, especially the two countries upgrading their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam, affirming that this is a significant step forward in the relationship between Vietnam and the two countries.
Could the Deputy Prime Minister please tell us about the measures to implement the results achieved from the visit to realize the expectations from upgrading relations to comprehensive strategic partnership with Indonesia and Singapore, contributing further to ASEAN?
With the substantive results of the visit, the first task is to soon concretize the new relationship framework and urgently develop a comprehensive Action Plan to implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the two countries.
Second, on the basis of the Action Plans, relevant ministries and branches should promptly develop specific cooperation programs to work immediately with partners; continue to promote traditional areas of cooperation, while paying special attention to new contents and new areas, such as green economy, innovation, science and technology, digital transformation, green energy, etc.
Third, it is necessary to periodically review, urge and inspect the implementation of plans and programs so that agreements can truly come to life, promote effectiveness and best serve development goals in the new period.
For ASEAN, we need to continue to promote our proactive and responsible role, together with other countries to strengthen ASEAN's solidarity, self-reliance and centrality, deepen the process of regional integration through cooperation frameworks, including the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and strategic plans that will begin to be implemented from 2026, as well as strongly promote the initiatives we have proposed, including the ASEAN Future Forum. With the approach of "taking people as the center, subject and goal of the Community building process", we need to continue to give higher priority to bringing the ASEAN Community closer to the people, businesses and localities, effectively exploiting the benefits that ASEAN brings, especially in expanding investment and trade cooperation both within and outside the bloc, mobilizing more resources to effectively serve the country's socio-economic development goals.
Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-tham-indonesia-asean-singapore-khang-dinh-hop-tac-manh-me-cua-viet-nam.html
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