Vietnam – ASEAN: 30 Years of Community Building and Shaping the Future

The conference is an important scientific forum to review Vietnam's three decades of participation in ASEAN; assess Vietnam's achievements and contributions to the process of building the ASEAN Community; and exchange and discuss issues and directions for cooperation in the context of profound changes in the region and the world. The event is held both in-person and online.

Photo caption — Professor Dr. Le Van Loi, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the Academy, delivered the opening remarks at the conference.

In his opening remarks at the seminar, Professor Dr. Le Van Loi, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the Academy, emphasized that Vietnam's accession to ASEAN on July 28, 1995, was a significant historical milestone, not only opening up new development opportunities for the country but also contributing to consolidating peace , stability, and cooperation in Southeast Asia.

According to Professor Dr. Le Van Loi, the most overarching benefit that ASEAN brings to Vietnam is a peaceful and stable regional environment – an essential foundation for ensuring security and socio- economic development.

The President of the Academy affirmed that, in the economic field, participating in ASEAN opens up a vast market to boost exports, expand investment, and promote economic integration. Participation in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) helps Vietnam attract FDI and modern technology from multinational corporations, boosting economic growth and creating jobs. The AEC also provides a foundation for Vietnam to expand international integration through the signing of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with major partners. Furthermore, ASEAN integration contributes to reforming domestic economic institutions, improving policies and laws, and helping businesses enhance their competitiveness to participate more deeply in regional and global value chains.

In the socio-cultural field, ASEAN provides opportunities for Vietnam to strengthen cultural exchange and promote its national culture abroad. Cooperation within the framework of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) helps Vietnam address environmental and social welfare issues. In particular, Vietnamese people benefit from a peaceful, secure, and stable environment, access to a wider variety of goods and services, and more job opportunities in other ASEAN member countries.

Assessing Vietnam's role and contributions to ASEAN over the past 30 years, Professor Le Van Loi stated that Vietnam's journey within ASEAN has left remarkable imprints. From a country gradually integrating, Vietnam has risen strongly, becoming an active, proactive, and responsible member, contributing to the overall development of the ASEAN Community.

Vietnam's role in ASEAN is increasingly appreciated thanks to its positive and effective contributions in many fields, as well as its political and economic stability and continuously improving international standing. Vietnam's outstanding contributions are demonstrated in the following aspects: Promoting ASEAN solidarity and central role; Contributing to building a strong ASEAN Community; Successfully chairing many important conferences and events; Actively participating in regional and international cooperation mechanisms; and Promoting connectivity and sustainable development.

Besides the achievements, the President of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Le Van Loi, also stated that ASEAN is facing many major challenges such as strategic competition among major powers, internal issues, non-traditional security challenges, and the need to innovate its development model in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In this context, Vietnam continues to steadfastly prioritize its foreign policy of working with ASEAN to build a strong, united, and self-reliant community, making positive contributions to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Dato' Tan Yang Thai, Ambassador of Malaysia to Vietnam, representing the ASEAN Chair country in 2025, expressed his pleasure at attending this particularly significant seminar and highly appreciated Vietnam's 30-year journey alongside ASEAN. The Ambassador affirmed Malaysia's strong support for Vietnam's accession to ASEAN and stated that the 1995 event played a crucial role in transforming ASEAN into a unified, dynamic Southeast Asian community with an increasingly prominent role on the international stage.

According to the Malaysian Ambassador, Vietnam is currently one of the most dynamic and actively contributing members of ASEAN, not only in economic development but also in promoting the Association's central role, internal solidarity, and expanding its external relations. The Ambassador also shared the outstanding achievements of Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, particularly in promoting the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, strengthening resilience, green transformation, digital transformation, and maintaining ASEAN's inclusive identity through welcoming Timor-Leste as its 11th member.

In his keynote address at the opening session, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Director of the Asia-Pacific Research Institute, emphasized that Vietnam's accession to ASEAN was not only a correct strategic choice but also demonstrated strong innovative thinking and a long-term vision regarding the country's position, role, and future in the regional and international structure, especially in the context of profound global changes. Through ASEAN, Vietnam is gradually enhancing its international standing, transforming from a country in the reform period into a reliable partner, a pillar of cooperation and stability, and an active member in shaping the future of the region.

According to Dr. Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Vietnam has always been proactive in integration, steadfast in its long-term strategic thinking, and has made substantial contributions to regional processes in many fields such as economics, security, science and technology, and innovation. In the context of the continuing complex developments in the region and the world, which require ASEAN to constantly adapt, innovate, and enhance its self-reliance, organizing the conference to summarize and evaluate 30 years of Vietnam's participation in ASEAN is of particular importance.

Through this conference, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Cuong hopes that scholars and delegates will focus on discussing and exchanging in-depth and comprehensively the achievements, challenges, and lessons learned during Vietnam's 30-year journey of participation in ASEAN; thereby contributing to clarifying Vietnam's role and contributions within ASEAN. At the same time, the conference is also expected to open up in-depth exchanges on the prospects for ASEAN's development until 2045, aiming to build a resilient, cohesive, highly adaptable, and innovative Community.

The workshop serves as a scientific forum for exchanging, discussing, and evaluating Vietnam's three-decade journey in ASEAN; clarifying the achievements and contributions of Vietnam in the process of building the ASEAN Community; and identifying challenges and directions for cooperation in the context of a rapidly changing regional and international environment.

Within the framework of the Conference, delegates focused on discussing two main topics. The first session focused on exchanging and evaluating Vietnam's 30-year participation in ASEAN in the political-security, economic, and socio-cultural fields, thereby clarifying the achievements and drawing some lessons from the practical experience of participating in building the ASEAN Community. The second session, looking towards the ASEAN Vision 2045, focused on discussing the development trends of the ASEAN Community towards self-reliance, enhanced connectivity and adaptability, and also discussed the prospects and direction of Vietnam's contribution to this process in the future.

The workshop supplemented scientific and practical arguments to serve research and policy advice, while clarifying Vietnam's role and orientation in ASEAN cooperation, thereby contributing to the process of strengthening a united, resilient, and sustainably developing ASEAN Community.

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