ASEAN and Russia value each other’s role and contributions to peace and stability: Ambassador Ton Thi Ngoc Huong
WVR - On the occasion of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung's visit to attend the 35th Anniversary ASEAN-Russia Summit and engage in bilateral activities in Kazan, Russian Federation, Ambassador and Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to ASEAN Ton Thi Ngoc Huong shared with The World and Vietnam Report the key focuses of the visit and ASEAN-Russia relations, as well as Vietnam's contributions.
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| Prime Minister Le Minh Hung departs for the 35th Anniversary ASEAN-Russia Summit. (Source: VNA) |
Ambassador, the participation of Vietnam's leaders in the 35th Anniversary ASEAN-Russia activities takes place amidst significant regional and global changes. How do you assess the significance of the 35th Anniversary ASEAN-Russia Summit?
The world is undergoing increasingly unpredictable changes, where instability in one region can have significant repercussions on others, despite geographical distances. Geopolitical and geo-economic competition among major powers profoundly affects the economies of medium and small countries, impacting the production and business operations of enterprises involved in regional and global supply chains. Dialogue and cooperation are no longer the prioritized methods in international relations.
In this context, ASEAN's persistent efforts to maintain dialogue and cooperation channels with partners both within and outside the region, focusing on peace, stability, and development as common goals, emphasizing open economic integration as the foundation for regional cooperation, upholding international law, and supporting multilateral cooperation, continue to receive support and collaboration from many partners.
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| Ambassador, Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to ASEAN Ton Thi Ngoc Huong. (Source: Vietnamese Delegation to ASEAN) |
Anniversary milestones in ASEAN's relations with partners serve as opportunities for parties to reaffirm their commitment and value towards ASEAN, support ASEAN's central role, and enhance cooperation for common goals and interests. The 35th Anniversary ASEAN-Russia Summit is organized in this spirit.
The summit sends a meaningful message about the commitment of both sides to the ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership through maintaining high-level contacts, creating new momentum to promote substantive and effective cooperation in the coming period.
The summit also demonstrates Russia's appreciation for ASEAN's role and position, as well as ASEAN's recognition of Russia's importance and contributions to peace, stability, and development in the region and globally.
Through this summit, ASEAN and Russia will comprehensively review the 35-year journey of their relationship, further strengthen trust and understanding, seek and expand mutually beneficial cooperation areas, enhance connectivity between the two regions, and discuss approaches to international and regional issues of common concern, coordinating responses to shared challenges.
In the context of increasing strategic competition among major countries, how can ASEAN and Russia coordinate to maintain peace, stability, and development in the region? After the 35-year milestone, which areas of cooperation should ASEAN and Russia prioritize to develop a more substantive relationship in the next decade?
Strategic competition among major countries poses challenges for nations, while also pressuring them to make appropriate choices in international relations. For ASEAN, the steadfast choice is always dialogue, cooperation, enhancing trust, and harmonizing relationships. To increase mutual trust and understanding, dialogue mechanisms, including high-level ones between ASEAN and Russia, such as this commemorative summit, and Russia's active participation in ASEAN-led regional mechanisms like the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM ), play crucial roles. Dialogue must always be accompanied by substantive cooperation. Therefore, practical cooperation activities, aligned with each side's interests and strengths, helping countries more effectively address emerging challenges and leverage existing potentials, need to be invested in and promoted.
Opportunities for cooperation in economics, trade, and investment can be mentioned, especially through connecting the Eurasian economic space with ASEAN to diversify and expand markets for businesses on both sides. Energy cooperation is an area where Russia and ASEAN have strengths and needs, which can complement each other, including ensuring energy security, developing energy infrastructure, and transitioning to sustainable energy. Science and technology, especially in basic science fields, including high-tech human resource development training, is an aspect with significant potential for promotion between ASEAN and Russia. Tourism, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural exchanges also need to be further promoted to increase understanding and connectivity between the people of the two regions.
ASEAN and Russia are preparing to implement a new phase of the Action Plan for Cooperation. From the exchanges and consensus of senior leaders in Kazan, specific, substantive activities along with appropriate resource investment from both sides will create strong momentum for effective cooperation between the two sides in the future.
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| Vietnam has consistently played an active role, contributing to promoting the ASEAN-Russia partnership over the decades. (Source: RIA Novosti) |
How do you assess Vietnam's participation and contributions at the Summit?
Vietnam has consistently played an active role, contributing to promoting the ASEAN-Russia partnership over the decades. Based on the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia, along with its role as an active and responsible ASEAN member, Vietnam has endeavored to serve as a bridge, enhancing understanding, trust, and promoting shared interests in ASEAN-Russia relations, steering cooperation towards a more substantive and effective direction.
In preparing for the Summit, Vietnam was also one of the countries actively promoting consensus within ASEAN to organize the 35th Anniversary ASEAN-Russia Summit in Kazan. Simultaneously, Vietnam proactively participated in contributing and proposing important ideas during the negotiation process of documents to be submitted for approval by the leaders at this Summit.
The high-level Vietnamese delegation, led by Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, will share at the Summit feasible initiatives that align with ASEAN's needs, Russia's strengths, and the current situation's demands.
The development, stability, and sustainability of ASEAN-Russia relations will benefit each side and contribute positively to the peace, stability, and prosperity of the region. In this spirit, Vietnam will continue to contribute proactively, actively, and responsibly to efforts to guide and deepen the strategic partnership between ASEAN and Russia in the new context.
Thank you, Ambassador!
