Participants join the ‘Meet ASEAN in Đà Nẵng’ 2025 at Furama Đà Nẵng Resort. The event aims to expand partnerships among cities in ASEAN and Đà Nẵng and to help develop Master Plan for ASEAN Community in 2045. VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG – During its 30 year integration as an active member state in ASEAN the country has made many innovative and effective contributions to the regional community, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Việt Nam, Đỗ Hùng Việt stressed in his opening remarks at the ‘Meet ASEAN in Đà Nẵng’ 2025 forum.

Hùng said ASEAN has remained as a leading multilateral cooperation mechanism forging close links with Việt Nam.

“Endless efforts have been made by Việt Nam and the other member states in building a strong-self strengthening and solidarity community of ASEAN. The recent historical visit to ASEAN headquarters and ASEAN National Secretariats by Vietnamese Party Chief Tô Lâm strongly committed the appreciation and contribution of Việt Nam to the development of ASEAN,” Việt emphasised.

He said the ‘Meet ASEAN in Đà Nẵng' could be seen as a sign of that growing importance and as a responsive role of Việt Nam as a member of ASEAN, but it also created cooperative opportunities in sharing visions, ideas and action plans of development in the city.

Việt said the event in 2025 also marked the 30th anniversary of Việt Nam joining in the ASEAN family and the 50th commemoration of the end of the war.

Thai Ambassador to Việt Nam, Urawadee Sriphiromya shares her view on the development and cooperation between Thailand and Đà Nẵng. VNS Photo Công Thành

Chairman of Đà Nẵng City’s people’s committee, Lê Trung Chinh started his speech by offering his condolences to those who suffered personal losses in the recent earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand.

Chinh, on behalf of the people of Đà Nẵng, presented a donation of US$10,000 to help Myanmar, while the city’s Tourism Association also contributed VNĐ75 million ($3,000).

Chinh said Đà Nẵng has been building relationships and partnerships with 50 cities in the world, of which nine were from ASEAN, while Malacca, Penang of Malaysia and Denpasar of Indonesia would be listed as new partners of Đà Nẵng.

“ASEAN is seen as a key tourism market of Đà Nẵng, with eight air routes out of ten ASEAN countries linked with Đà Nẵng. ASEAN member states including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines have invested $1.14 billion in 72 projects in the city,” Chinh said.

“The city has been speeding up the plans for the development of a Free Trade Zone and an International Finance Centre in the region, so this event will expand ties among member countries and partnerships of cities-to-cities for multilateral benefits.”

Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Amran Mohamed Zin highly appreciated the role of Việt Nam in ASEAN.

“Việt Nam has actively contributed to the development of a more cohesive, responsive and dynamic ASEAN. The positive impacts are visible, not just in Việt Nam’s own rapid growth and integration, but also in ASEAN’s stature and influence as a regional bloc that promotes peace, stability and prosperity,” he said.

He said that Đà Nẵng City, with its strategic location, vibrant economy and dynamic people, is uniquely positioned to foster deeper ties with its ASEAN neighbours.

A photo exhibition on ASEAN Community opens at the ‘Meet ASEAN in Đà Nẵng’ 2025. The event was held April 9-11. VNS Photo Công Thành

The Thai Ambassador to Việt Nam, Urawadee Sriphiromya said Đà Nẵng has an important regional position in terms of maritime commerce, with its deep-sea ports of Tiên Sa and Liên Chiểu, alongside East-West economic corridors.

She said Đà Nẵng has engaged in ASEAN and already has strong ties with localities of Thailand such as Khon Kaen and soon with Mukdahan.

The Ambassador suggested that the connection between Thailand and Đà Nẵng could be further developed across sustainable development goals, tourism and education.

Urawadee Sriphiromya said some key investment projects from Thailand had already landed in Đà Nẵng, including the MM Mega Market and Central Retail.

Khor Kar Buan, general director of Massada Land Company, an industrial park and housing developer, said Đà Nẵng offers a quite smooth investment environment, but the city has yet to attract big global companies.

He said the city needs build strong people and emphasise the importance of human capital for future development.

The Malaysian investor also suggested that the city authority should be aware of ‘speed decision’, ‘speed response’ and ‘speed execution’ in its investment attraction policy.

At the event, Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on tourism were inked by the city’s Tourism Association, the Malaysia Tourism Agency Association (MATA) and the Philippines Tourism Association.

The forum also featured discussions on the ASEAN 2025 Master Plans and the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, along with the ASEAN-UK and ASEAN-New Zealand relations.

Participants also joined trips out to the Bà Nà Hills, the Tiên Sa and Liên Chiểu Ports and the Đà Nẵng High-Tech Park. VNS