MOFA hosts ASEAN-New Zealand Forum on Sub-Regional Cooperation and ASEAN-UK Workshop
WVR - On June 10, in its role as the coordinator of ASEAN-New Zealand and ASEAN-United Kingdom relations for the 2024-2027 period, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) organized the ASEAN-New Zealand Forum on Sub-Regional Cooperation, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand and the New Zealand Embassy in Hanoi, and the ASEAN-UK Workshop commemorating the 5th anniversary of establishing the Dialogue Partnership (2021-2026).
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| Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang delivers the opening speech at the ASEAN-New Zealand Forum on Sub-Regional Cooperation. |
These activities are part of the ASEAN Future Forum 2026, aimed at enhancing cooperation between ASEAN and its partners, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The forum and workshop were attended by numerous policymakers, local leaders, businesses, experts, and scholars from ASEAN countries, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, as well as Ambassadors from these nations in Hanoi, and many online participants.
On this occasion, representatives from ASEAN, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom highly appreciated Vietnam's role as the coordinating country, with specific and substantive contributions in promoting the comprehensive strategic partnership between ASEAN and New Zealand, and the ASEAN-UK dialogue partnership.
ASEAN-New Zealand: From commitment to concrete action
In his opening remarks at the Forum, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang, Head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam, noted that the Mekong sub-region is facing severe and direct challenges from climate change, water security, and food security, which surpass the response capacity of any single nation and require regional efforts. As the coordinating country, Vietnam reaffirms its commitment to promoting increasingly effective and substantive ASEAN-New Zealand cooperation based on ensuring that “political commitments must be transformed into concrete action programs that people can feel and benefit from.”
Co-chairing the Forum, Ms. Alana Hudson, Acting Head of SOM ASEAN New Zealand, emphasised that the Mekong sub-region is a convergence of dynamic economies with rich cultural heritage, possessing one of the world's most important river systems, which is the lifeline and livelihood for millions. However, this area is also facing intertwined and complex challenges from climate change, water resource management, to inclusive growth and ensuring economic resilience. Ms. Hudson affirmed that this is an important opportunity for parties to listen, share perspectives, and deepen mutual understanding of the region's opportunities and challenges.
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| Ms. Alana Hudson, Acting Head of SOM ASEAN New Zealand, speaks at the Forum. (Photo: Trung Hieu) |
During the discussion session, experts and scholars affirmed the strategic importance of sub-regional cooperation within the regional structure and ASEAN cooperation. Mr. Suriyan Vichitlekarn, Executive Director of the Mekong Institute, and Ms. Hoang Thi Ha, Senior Fellow at the East Asia Institute, Singapore, agreed that challenges in the Mekong sub-region, from water security, saltwater intrusion, land subsidence to migration and livelihood loss, require a comprehensive approach. They suggested linking Mekong cooperation with ASEAN's common agenda, integrating the sub-region as an inseparable component in building a resilient and inclusive ASEAN Community; particularly enhancing coordination and mobilizing resources among ASEAN dialogue partners, including leveraging New Zealand’s multilateral reputation, technical expertise, practical experience, and green finance.
From a science and technology application perspective, Mr. Declan Graham introduced a series of specific solutions that New Zealand can contribute to the Mekong sub-region, including climate-adaptive smart agriculture, environmental and land resource governance, research and development of drought/salt-tolerant crops, circular technology, and biotechnology applications for green transition.
Delegates agreed to propose integrating many sub-regional cooperation contents into the implementation of the ASEAN-New Zealand Action Plan 2026-2030, especially the Planet and People pillars; while enhancing the application of new science and technology, including artificial intelligence, to accelerate the assessment, design, and implementation of specific cooperation projects; and promoting the annual ASEAN-New Zealand exchange framework on sub-regional cooperation, aiming to maintain regular dialogue under the Track 1.5 framework.
Delegates also concurred that sub-regional cooperation is not merely a development support story, but an important component ensuring the resilience, common prosperity, and inclusive development of the entire ASEAN Community. Enhancing disaster resilience and supporting livelihood transitions for vulnerable localities and communities in the Mekong sub-region is a practical, direct contribution to strengthening the solid foundation of the common ASEAN home in the new context.
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| Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang takes a commemorative photo with representatives attending the ASEAN-New Zealand Forum on Sub-Regional Cooperation. (Photo: Trung Hieu) |
ASEAN-UK: 5 years of partnership, shaping the future
At the ASEAN-UK Workshop commemorating the 5th anniversary of establishing the Dialogue Partnership (2021-2026), delegates reviewed the achievements over the past five years of ASEAN-UK relations. Ms. Phantipha, former Ambassador, Head of the Thai Delegation to ASEAN, remarked that ASEAN-UK relations are “on the right track,” yet have not fully realized their strategic potential.
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| Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang delivers the opening speech at the ASEAN-UK Workshop. (Photo: Trung Hieu) |
Many delegates particularly emphasized that in the new context, ASEAN and the United Kingdom need to adjust priorities and focus to adapt more effectively, promote more substantive cooperation, and bring more specific benefits to people, businesses, and the two regions in the next phase.
Delegates also exchanged and shared expectations, perspectives, and recommendations on the strategic prospects of ASEAN-UK relations, including enhancing strategic dialogue, expanding cooperation, and exploring more flexible and effective cooperation mechanisms to address emerging challenges in the region. ASEAN-UK relations need to transition from the “trust-building” phase to “resilience-building,” as noted by Associate Professor Dr. Ha Anh Tuan, Acting Head of the Department of International Politics and Diplomacy, Diplomatic Academy.
Cooperation areas such as global governance, enhancing economic resilience, strengthening supply chains, strategic minerals, raising maritime space awareness, emerging technologies, digital governance, green finance, renewable energy, and port infrastructure were discussed throughout the Workshop.
Notably, prominent young leaders from ASEAN and the UK of the ASEAN Future Forum NextGen Program proposed many ideas and cooperation proposals in new fields such as technology, science, AI, associated with the perspectives, beliefs, and aspirations of the younger generation for the region's future.
In his opening remarks at the Workshop, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang, Head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam, affirmed that the UK becoming a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN in 2021 is a significant milestone, reflecting the shared interests of both sides in maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and prosperity in the region. The positive results ASEAN and the UK have achieved over the past five years have paved the way for cooperation in the upcoming phase, especially facilitating the UK's deeper participation in ASEAN-led mechanisms in the region, more effectively supporting ASEAN's Community-building efforts, and vigorously promoting substantive cooperation for the common benefit of both sides. The Deputy Minister affirmed that “the practical complementarity to ASEAN's priorities, contributing to enhancing the region's adaptability and resilience, is the value of ASEAN-UK relations.”
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| UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Seema Malhotra speaks at the Workshop. (Photo: Trung Hieu) |
Sharing her views at the Workshop, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Seema Malhotra emphasised that 2026 is an occasion for ASEAN and the United Kingdom to reflect on achievements and discuss common priorities and aspirations for the future. The Minister affirmed the UK's commitment to deepening and strengthening its relationship with ASEAN, emphasizing the UK's support for ASEAN's central role in the regional architecture and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
* On this occasion, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang, Head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam, held bilateral meetings with Ambassador Wang Jing, Head of the Chinese Delegation to ASEAN; Ambassador Yonetani Koji, Head of the Japanese Delegation to ASEAN; and UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Seema Malhotra to discuss bilateral issues and coordination within ASEAN's cooperation frameworks with partners.
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| Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang takes a commemorative photo with representatives attending the ASEAN-UK Workshop commemorating the 5th anniversary of establishing the Dialogue Partnership (2021-2026). (Photo: Trung Hieu) |
