ASEAN leaders for the group photo at the plenary session of the 46th ASEAN Summit held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Kuala Lumur, Malaysia, on May 26. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính led the high-level Vietnamese delegation to attend the Plenary Session of the 46th ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

The session was chaired by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, ASEAN Chair for 2025, and was attended by high-level leaders of ASEAN member states, Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn.

Adopting ASEAN Vision 2045 and agreement on Timor-Leste’s accession

During the plenary session, ASEAN leaders extended their condolences on the passing of former Vietnamese President Trần Đức Lương, recognising his significant contributions to Việt Nam’s renewal, development and regional and international integration.

Leaders voiced their support for the Summit’s timely theme of 'Inclusivity and Sustainability', which reflects ASEAN’s urgent need to foster equitable and resilient development, solidarity and effective responses to common challenges such as climate change, energy security, transnational crime and natural disasters.

They affirmed ASEAN’s status as a bright spot of global growth, with projected GDP growth of 4.8 per cent in 2024 and 4.7 per cent in 2025. Intra-regional and external cooperation continues to expand, while ASEAN’s central role, position and reputation are increasingly reinforced.

To safeguard these achievements amid global uncertainty and turbulence, ASEAN must harness its internal strengths, support a rules-based multilateral trading system, effectively use existing trade agreements, expand integration and connectivity, and proactively shape the region’s future through initiatives such as the ASEAN Power Grid and the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement.

In that spirit, ASEAN leaders agreed to adopt the document 'ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future', which includes the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and strategies for political-security, economic, socio-cultural and connectivity pillars, establishing a strategic foundation for future cooperation and integration.

Leaders stressed that implementing the 2045 strategies requires more than political declarations – it demands concrete action plans, adequate resources, effective implementation and monitoring mechanisms and the involvement of the whole of society. The vision and its strategies should also be integrated into national development plans to ensure consistency and coherence.

The leaders reached consensus on admitting Timor-Leste as ASEAN’s 11th member at the 47th ASEAN Summit in October 2025, and assigned ministers and senior officials to negotiate its accession documents.

Five Enhancements

In his remarks at the session, PM Chính thanked ASEAN leaders for their heartfelt condolences on the passing of former President Trần Đức Lương.

Supporting this year’s theme 'Inclusivity and Sustainability', PM Chính expressed confidence that, under Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship, the bloc would be steered effectively through challenges. He praised ASEAN’s timely collective leadership and coordination in action. In recent times, the world has witnessed increasingly complex and unpredictable developments, marked by trends of political polarisation, economic fragmentation, institutional disunity and development disparities.

Such a challenging context demands that ASEAN amplify what Prime Minister Chính described as the “Five Enhancements”, greater unity to generate collective strength, stronger resilience to take ownership of its destiny, more proactive engagement to shape the regional agenda, deeper inclusiveness to remain a common home for all members and stronger sustainability for future generations.

The Vietnamese Government leader expressed strong support for the adoption of the 'ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future' document.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính addresses the plenary session of the 46th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on May 26. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

Looking ahead, PM Chính proposed three key cooperation priorities for ASEAN.

First, ASEAN should reshape its development mindset, basing it on inclusiveness as a foundation, innovation as a driving force and sustainability as the goal. He suggested that relevant ASEAN bodies study the inclusion of sustainability as one of the key criteria for evaluating the implementation of the 2045 Cooperation Strategies, grounded in three pillars: green economy, inclusive society and smart governance.

He also called for greater mobilisation of both public and private resources to promote digital transformation, science, technology and innovation, as well as the development of region-wide initiatives that inspire the engagement from ASEAN partners.

Second, ASEAN should further consolidate its role in connectivity and broaden links beyond the region, diversifying its products, markets and supply chains. PM Chính welcomed the expansion of models such as the ASEAN–Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the ASEAN–GCC–China Economic Summit to other potential partners, including the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the Pacific Alliance.

He also urged ASEAN to project a stronger collective voice in support of free, fair and inclusive trade principles, and to uphold multilateralism. He expressed confidence that Timor-Leste’s upcoming full membership would contribute significantly to enhancing ASEAN’s resilience, inclusiveness, and sustainability.

The third was that ASEAN must uphold its centrality and enhance regional resilience.

PM Chính stressed that ASEAN’s success hinges on maintaining a strategic space for independent and autonomous decision-making. ASEAN must reaffirm its centrality not just in principle but through action – upholding strategic autonomy, strengthening internal consensus and improving its adaptive capacity in response to external shocks.

In light of rising transnational crime, PM Chính announced Việt Nam’s proposal to develop an ASEAN Declaration on enhancing cooperation in apprehending wanted criminals and expressed hope for support from fellow member states.

PM Chính voiced his firm belief that, with shared trust and a common vision, ASEAN will weather all storms and advance confidently. He reaffirmed Việt Nam’s commitment to remaining a proactive, responsible and constructive member, ready to join hands with ASEAN in building a Community that is: “more united, more resilient, more proactive, more inclusive, and more sustainable” — both for today and the generations to come. — VNS

A view of the plenary session of the 46th ASEAN Summit. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang