Ambassador Nguyen Viet Cuong introduces ASEAN Community’s three pillars and Vietnam–Chile relations in Santiago
WVR - On June 10, at the ASEAN introduction program for Chilean diplomats and students in Santiago, Vietnamese Ambassador to Chile Nguyen Viet Cuong introduced Vietnam and Vietnam-Chile relations, while also presenting the operation of the ASEAN Community through its three pillars.
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| ASEAN introduction program for Chilean diplomats and students. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Chile) |
The program, themed “ASEAN 101”, was organized by the ASEAN Committee in Santiago and the Andrés Bello Diplomatic Academy at the headquarters of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, targeting Chilean diplomats and students. The event gathered representatives from five ASEAN countries with missions in Santiago, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, and was divided into two sessions: The first session featured an overview from each country about itself and its relations with Chile; the second session delved into specialized topics about ASEAN.
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| The Indonesian Ambassador provides an overview of ASEAN's formation history, principles, and structure. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Chile) |
As the rotating Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Santiago, the Indonesian Ambassador provided an overview of ASEAN's formation history, principles, and structure. Other speakers presented on ASEAN's central role and foreign relations, priorities during the ASEAN Chairmanship 2026, and the relationship and cooperation prospects between ASEAN and Chile. ASEAN was established in 1967 and currently comprises 11 members with a market of over 670 million people.
Representing Vietnam, in the first session, Ambassador Nguyen Viet Cuong introduced Vietnam and Vietnam-Chile relations across three dimensions: economy, institutions, and people-to-people exchanges. Despite being nearly 19,000 km apart across the Pacific Ocean, the two countries have complementary economic structures: Chile exports copper and lithium, while Vietnam is an emerging center for electronics and semiconductors in the global supply chain. In 2025, bilateral trade reached nearly 2 billion USD.
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| Ambassador Nguyen Viet Cuong introduces the three pillars of the ASEAN Community and Vietnam-Chile relations in Santiago. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Chile) |
Both countries are founding members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Chile was the first South American country to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1971 and the first Latin American country to sign a free trade agreement with Vietnam in 2011, which took effect in 2014. Regarding people-to-people exchanges, the Ambassador mentioned a painting competition featuring 27 Chilean artists organized by the Embassy in collaboration with the Chilean Painters Association (APECH) in April 2026, marking the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In the second session, Ambassador Nguyen Viet Cuong presented the three pillars of the ASEAN Community. The Political-Security pillar aims to maintain peace and stability, keeping Southeast Asia a nuclear weapon-free zone, based on international law and consensus principles; the Economic pillar promotes intra-regional integration and trade, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); the Socio-Cultural pillar focuses on connecting people and placing them at the center. The Ambassador emphasized that ASEAN operates on the basis of respecting differences among its members.
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| ASEAN Ambassadors attend the event. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Chile) |
According to the Ambassador, ASEAN and Chile share many commonalities, from valuing international law and maritime law, participating in the CPTPP, to cooperating in disaster response in the Pacific region. The Ambassador also introduced the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, adopted at the 46th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia (May 2025), and noted that the event coincided with Vietnam hosting the third ASEAN Future Forum in Hanoi (June 9-10, 2026).
On the Chilean side, representatives from a number of units of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs attended the event, including the Asia-Pacific Department, the Science and Technology Department, and ProChile (General Directorate of Export Promotion). During the Q&A sessions, students from the Andrés Bello Diplomatic Academy posed numerous questions to the speakers about the role of cultural diplomacy, ASEAN's potential to expand cooperation with partners, ASEAN's role in major power competition, and the potential of the Halal market.
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| Delegates attending the event pose for a group photo. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Chile) |
The program helped Chilean diplomats and students gain a deeper understanding of ASEAN and the significance of enhancing cooperation with the Association, as both sides seek to expand relations.
(Source: Embassy of Vietnam in Chile)
