ietnamese Ambassador Trần Đức Bình (left) has taken office as Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs. Photo courtesy of ASEAN Secretariat

JAKARTA  – Vietnamese Ambassador Trần Đức Bình took office as Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs at a ceremony in Jakarta on Monday.

After swearing in, Bình officially began his three-year tenure from 2021 to 2024.

He will support the Secretary General of ASEAN in providing strategic direction and guidance on research, corporate and public affairs as well as outreach activities. He will oversee the implementation of administration and general affairs, finance and budget, human resources, information technology, information resource management, community outreach, stakeholder engagements, protocol, conference and formalities, legal affairs, programme cooperation and project management, among others.

As stated in the ASEAN Charter, the Secretary General of ASEAN shall be assisted by four deputies. Two deputies are nominated by the ASEAN member states on a rotational basis for a non-renewable term of three years, while the two remainders are openly recruited based on merit for a three-year term which may be renewed for another three years.           

Bình was recruited after surpassing nearly 20 candidates from other ASEAN nations. His success means Việt Nam having a representative in the management board of the ASEAN Secretariat for 11 years consecutively from 2013 to 2024.

As an experienced diplomat, Bình served numerous appointments at the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to assuming his latest post, he was based in Jakarta, Indonesia, as the Vietnamese Ambassador and Permanent Representative to ASEAN between 2018 and 2021. 

Also assuming office the same day with the diplomat was Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political Security Community Robert Matheus Michael Tene. VNS