Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, head delegates and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn at the retreat session of the ASEAN - Australia Special Summit in Melbourne on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photos Dương Giang

MELBOURNE — Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Wednesday has proposed 'three breakthroughs', 'three enhancements', and 'three togethers' to further advance the thriving relations between ASEAN and Australia in the future.

Speaking at the Special Summit marking the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia relations held in Melbourne, Australia, PM Chính underscored the special significance of the summit; highly appreciating the close and long-standing relationship between ASEAN and Australia as well as Australia's cooperation and support for ASEAN over the past 50 years. The PM proposed 3 breakthroughs and 3 enhancements for ASEAN-Australia relations in the future.

He underlined that both sides need (1) breakthroughs in economic, trade, and investment cooperation, striving to double bilateral trade in the next 10 years; (2) breakthroughs in human resource development cooperation, especially high-quality human resources and labour cooperation; (3) breakthroughs in science-technology cooperation and innovation, focusing on digital economy development, green transformation, circular economy, and emerging sectors like semiconductor, artificial intelligence. On this point, he urged negotiations for an ASEAN-Australia digital economy agreement.

Regarding enhancements, first, PM Chính suggested both sides need to enhance political trust and cooperation to ensure regional peace and security, underscore the culture of dialogue and cooperation, promote trust building and preventive diplomacy, encourage major countries to responsibly contribute to the region.

Along with that, enhancing sub-regional cooperation, narrowing the development gap for comprehensive, sustainable development, especially in strategic infrastructure connectivity projects, helping to create positive economic and social transformations in poor and underdeveloped sub-regions of ASEAN are also items that need attention.

At the same time, PM Chính wants the two sides to boost cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, leveraging the strengths of over one million ASEAN-origin people, including over 350,000 Vietnamese people in Australia, contributing to deepening understanding and close ties, especially among the youth of both sides, thereby strengthening long-term, solid social foundations for the ASEAN-Australia relationship.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính addressed a plenary session of the ASEAN - Australia Special Summit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations.

At the retreat session, in the spirit of 'shared vision, synergised resources, and acting together for a peaceful, stable and sustainable Indo-Pacific region in the future, PM Chính proposed 'three togethers' between ASEAN and Australia to promote the regional vision in three aspects.

First, together building a united and self-reliant region, capable of resilience against both internal and external shocks and fluctuations, and effectively utilising new trends, breakthroughs such as innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy, sharing economy and artificial intelligence to accelerate comprehensive, sustainable, inclusive growth and leaving no one behind.

Second, together promoting a region that respects international law and acts in accordance with the laws, where countries adhere to the United Nations Charter, international law, respect the rules and norms of ASEAN, and promote the development of new rules and norms, including a truly substantive, effective Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (known as the East Sea in Việt Nam), contributing to making the South China Sea a region of peace, stability, cooperation and development.

Thirdly, together building and shaping an open, inclusive, regionally integrated structure, with emphasis on multilateralism and ASEAN's centrality, which will serve as the core factor in bringing together and harmonising interests among major countries.

Multi-faceted relations

In the summit, leaders of ASEAN countries and Australia expressed satisfaction with the development of relations and cooperation achievements, especially since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership in 2014 and its elevation to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021.

Australia is the first dialogue partner and also one of the first partners to establish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN. Bilateral relations are dynamically developing in all areas: political-security, economic, socio-cultural and development cooperation.

In 2022, bilateral trade reached over US$101 billion, nearly a 20 per cent increase from 2021. Australian foreign direct investment (FDI) in ASEAN reached over $2 billion, a 6.5-fold increase compared to 2021, almost reaching pre-COVID-19 levels.

Australia is also one of the leading partners supporting the building of the ASEAN Community, granting scholarships for students from ASEAN countries, and providing financial and technical assistance to enhance connectivity, narrow development gaps and develop the Mekong sub-region.

Discussing future development orientations, both sides agreed to make efforts to create strong transformations in economic, trade and investment cooperation, especially through effective implementation of the newly upgraded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Additionally, they aim to enhance cooperation in new areas such as innovation, digital economy, green transformation, energy transition, e-commerce and connectivity, becoming new drivers for economic growth.

A plenary session of the ASEAN - Australia Special Summit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations in Melbourne on Wednesday.

ASEAN welcomes Australia's announcement of an additional AUD222.5 million ($145 million) to drive cooperation with Mekong sub-region countries, establishing a $2 billion investment fund, and other initiatives to promote trade and investment with ASEAN in the future.

Both sides agreed to enhance political-security cooperation, defence cooperation, maritime cooperation and cybersecurity cooperation, especially within ASEAN-initiated and led mechanisms and forums such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and expanded ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM+), contributing to shaping a regional structure based on rule-of-law with ASEAN playing a central role, implementing cooperation based on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP); as well as enhancing education, training, labour cooperation, tourism, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people exchanges, especially between youth and young leaders on both sides.

Australia also announced an additional AUD40 million for the Southeast Asia Maritime Partnerships, raising the total sponsorship to AUD64 million for the next 4 years; providing 55 master's scholarships and 55 doctoral scholarships under the "Australia for ASEAN Future" initiative; establishing the ASEAN-Australia Centre to promote cultural and educational exchanges between the two sides, among other provisions.

Recognising the continued complex developments in the world and the region; increasing instability and conflict in many places, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Gaza Strip, Red Sea, East Sea (internationally called the South China Sea) and Korean Peninsula, both sides agreed on the need - more than ever - to underline the culture of dialogue and cooperation, the building of trust and prevention of conflicts, the role of international law and multilateralism in behaviour and cooperation in addressing common challenges.

Countries stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea; peacefully resolving disputes based on international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982); calling for the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), early development of a substantive, effective, legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) that is consistent with international law, including UNCLOS 1982, making the South China Sea a region of peace, stability, cooperation and development.

Concluding Summit, the leaders of both sides adopted the "ASEAN-Australia Leaders' Vision Statement - Partners for Peace and Prosperity" and the "Melbourne Statement - A Partnership for the Future", outlining the vision for the future as well as the direction for development in all areas in the future. — VNS