Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Đỗ Hùng Việt. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngọc Anh

On the occasion of Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính leading a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to attend the 44th and 45th ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) in Vientiane, Laos from October 8 to 10, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Đỗ Hùng Việt, head of the Việt Nam ASEAN SOM, speaks to the press about the summit.

What is the purpose, meaning and importance of the working trip?

This is the most important series of ASEAN’s high-level activities this year, with participation of ASEAN countries' leaders, Timor-Leste and 10 ASEAN partners, along with many guests representing international and regional organisations.

With the theme 'ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience', the leaders' discussions will focus on strategic issues in ASEAN and the region, promoting dialogue, extensive cooperation and close connections, together seizing opportunities and overcoming challenges.

The trip has particular importance in the increasingly complex international and regional environment. Many challenges, such as climate change, natural disasters and other extreme weather phenomena, are problems that all countries need to work together to find effective solutions.

With a spirit of readiness to contribute and make every effort for common success, the Vietnamese delegation, led by PM Phạm Minh Chính, will attend these summits, conveying many important messages about ASEAN and its future.

Firstly, it's important to discuss the direction of ASEAN cooperation.

Faced with strong emerging trends, ASEAN has made proactive steps to take advantage of new growth drivers. A number of frameworks are being actively negotiated, such as the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement and the ASEAN Power Grid Framework Agreement.

The most important task now is to actively implement them in order to exploit the maximum potential and opportunities that these frameworks will bring.

Cooperation in areas following green, digital and sustainable trends will be a top priority at ASEAN summits between ASEAN and its partners.

Secondly, to discuss shaping ASEAN’s future. This year marks a turning point for ASEAN, completing the master plans for next year and preparing for a new development phase through 2045.

With the rapid, strong and profound movements of the times, ASEAN's new development strategies are expected to elevate cooperation and connectivity in the region towards creativity and action.

This includes innovation, with new thinking and new ways of doing things, in order to seize opportunities and effectively respond to economic fluctuations.

It also includes creativity, bold breakthroughs and promoting a leading and pioneering role in cooperation in the region.

This also includes action, turning commitments into concrete steps, meeting aspirations and bringing practical benefits to people, businesses and localities.

Thirdly, we must define the role of ASEAN. Taking place two weeks after the United Nations (UN) Summit of the Future, these summits will affirm and spread the irreplaceable value and importance of multilateralism in the current context.

With the success of the ASEAN Future Forum held in Việt Nam, we have enhanced our role as a bridge, conveying the forum's recommendations and proposals to the UN Summit of the Future, linking common priorities and concerns in the region with the world.

With major achievements after nearly six decades, ASEAN has the capacity and ability to participate and contribute more deeply and effectively to global issues.

What contributions has Việt Nam made to ASEAN cooperation recently, and how has it supported the Chair country of Laos in preparing for this summit?

After nearly three decades of participating in ASEAN, Việt Nam has upheld its duties as a responsible member with an increasingly respected role and voice.

Adhering to the Party's foreign policy, we participate in ASEAN in the spirit of being ready to contribute more and be more proactive in unifying work.

We are closely coordinating with and assisting Laos to successfully assume its important responsibility, fostering great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

Our participation and contribution to ASEAN in recent times can be summarised in the following words: proactive implementation, substantive participation and sincere contribution.

Firstly, we are effectively working on the key points and priorities proposed by Laos. It can be said that the nine priority areas identified by Laos for this year are very suitable for the current common interests of ASEAN and the region, from building strategies for the future, strengthening ASEAN's central role and connecting economies, environmental cooperation and culture.

With contacts and exchanges at all levels, our leaders have confirmed their support and successful promotion of the proposed priorities.

In particular, PM Chính's attendance and speech at the third ASEAN Women Leaders Summit, a landmark event in its chairmanship year, was highly appreciated and respected by other countries.

Secondly, we will work with other countries to complete the 2025 Master Plans and develop Cooperation Strategies through 2045. In this process, we will not only complete the tasks according to our member responsibilities, but also proactively put forward many ideas and proposals for regional cooperation and connectivity.

The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 is a clear demonstration of our contribution, creating an open, inclusive and truly ASEAN-led forum.

In the near future, we will organise a regional consultation to review the ASEAN Community Blueprint 2025 and Vision to 2045, with the hope of looking back, evaluating and drawing lessons and good practices for the next phase.

Thirdly, along with other countries, we will strengthen ASEAN solidarity and unity in the current era of rapid and complex changes.

In the spirit of constructive dialogue and goodwill, we have successfully promoted our role as a bridge to reconcile differences and harmonise interests among countries, building and consolidating ASEAN consensus on many important issues, thereby contributing to the success of all.

This is also the policy and motto of our participation in these ASEAN summits.

We believe that, under the leadership of Laos, the summits will be a great success, continuing to uphold ASEAN's stature in the region and the world, towards a more connected and self-reliant ASEAN Community. — VNS