HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an international press conference on Thursday on the ASEAN Future Forum 2025, slated for February 25-26 under the theme "Building a United, Inclusive, and Resilient ASEAN Amidst Global Transformations."

Trịnh Minh Mạnh, Acting Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the Diplomatic Academy of Việt Nam, who chaired the event, emphasised that the ASEAN Future Forum 2025 holds significant importance.

"First, for ASEAN and the region, the forum aims to create an open platform for discussing key issues, particularly within ASEAN, providing ideas, proposals, and initiatives that help shape ASEAN's future development. The forum’s recommendations will complement ASEAN’s official discussions at the Track 1 level, contributing to the ASEAN Community-building process. I hope this forum will become an incubator for ideas and initiatives for ASEAN," he stated.

For Việt Nam, the ASEAN Future Forum 2025 reflects the country’s proactive, active, and responsible role as a growing and influential ASEAN member.

2025 marks Việt Nam's 30th anniversary of ASEAN membership, a historic milestone in the country’s regional and international integration journey, Mạnh noted.

"AFF 2025 demonstrates Việt Nam's maturity in ASEAN participation -- not just as a participant but as an active contributor to the ASEAN Community through concrete and practical initiatives like this forum," he added.

More than 500 delegates have registered to attend in person, including senior leaders from ASEAN countries and partner nations, regional and international experts, ambassadors, and high-ranking officials, representatives from international organisations, businesses, local authorities, and domestic and foreign journalists.

The forum will be one of the largest multilateral events hosted by Việt Nam in 2025, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính is expected to deliver a keynote speech at the opening session and participate in several forum activities.

Three high-level leaders -- namely Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar bin Ibrahim, President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta, and Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon -- have confirmed their attendance. Additionally, ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, along with 10 deputy prime ministers, ministers, or equivalent officials from other countries, are expected to join the forum.

According to the organising committee, aside from the opening and closing sessions, this year’s forum will feature 12 activities, including one high-level session, five plenary sessions, a gala dinner, a working lunch session, and various other engagements.

Regarding expectations for this year’s forum, Mạnh highlighted that the first ASEAN Future Forum, held in April 2024, was a resounding success and received high praise domestically and internationally.

"AFF 2024 successfully laid the foundation for a unique and exclusive ASEAN forum -- created by ASEAN, for ASEAN, yet open and inclusive, just like ASEAN itself. Our expectation, as the organisers of the ASEAN Future Forum 2025, is that AFF 2025 will build on this success, beginning to establish the brand and identity of AFF Hà Nội. From 2026 onward, we hope this brand and identity will be further reinforced at the regional and global levels," Mạnh noted.

British Deputy Ambassador Marcus Winsley told Việt Nam News that this year's forum will serve as an "incubator for ideas at a time when people need space to be creative, to be able to think a little bit out of the box."

He remarked that the focus on economy, sustainability, technology, development and enhancement could potentially be the forum's niche, which hopefully could become comparable to Shangri La Dialogue (Singapore) which is more focused on defence and security matters.

"Việt Nam is in a terrific place in order to bring people together. It's a very innovative and rapidly developing country," the UK diplomat commented.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is expected to have a video address at the forum, while the UK Ambassador to ASEAN Sarah Tiffin along with a senior policy maker for Southeast Asia and the Pacific will participate in person in Hà Nội, Marcus confirmed. — VNS