PM Phạm Minh Chính (centre) is welcomed at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

JAKARTA — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and the high-ranking delegation of Việt Nam arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia at midday on Friday to attend the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting at the invitation of the Chair of ASEAN in 2021, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei.

Those welcoming the delegation at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta included representatives of the Indonesia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnamese ambassador to Indonesia, the ambassador and permanent representative of Việt Nam to ASEAN, as well as staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia.

The ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting takes place amid the political instability in Myanmar since February 1 and complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in regional countries. Meanwhile, Việt Nam successfully served as Chair of the bloc in 2020 and is currently a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and President of the council for April.

At this meeting, PM Chính and other ASEAN leaders will discuss the Myanmar situation, the ASEAN Community building process, the response to COVID-19, and the bloc’s external relations.

The trip by the Vietnamese PM continues to affirm the country’s priority given to the enhancement of solidarity and mutual support among ASEAN members, thus helping to promote the grouping’s centrality and stature in resolving emerging challenges and create a peaceful and favourable environment for sustainable development of each country, as well as the region as a whole. — VNS