PM Le Minh Hung attends 48th ASEAN Summit, reaffirming ASEAN as a top strategic priority: Deputy FM Dang Hoang Giang
WVR - On the occasion of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung attending the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines from May 7-8, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang gave an interview to the press about the significance and focus of the summit.
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| Prime Minister Le Minh Hung will lead the Vietnamese delegation attending the 48th ASEAN Summit in the Philippines. (Source: VGP) |
Deputy Minister, could you share the significance, importance, and main objectives that the 48th ASEAN Summit aims to achieve?
The 48th ASEAN Summit and related meetings will take place on May 7-8 in Cebu, Philippines, under the theme "Navigating Our Future, Together". This marks the first annual summit in the 2026 ASEAN Chairmanship of the Philippines and holds special significance as ASEAN officially enters a new development phase after a decade of building the ASEAN Community from 2015-2025.
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| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang answers press questions. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
The year 2026 marks the first year ASEAN implements the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and strategic plans across four pillars: Political-Security, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and Connectivity. This will serve as a crucial framework to build a united, resilient ASEAN that plays a central role in promoting cooperation and addressing regional issues.
This Summit occurs amidst rapidly changing, complex, and unpredictable regional and global situations, particularly the current complexities in the Middle East, placing significant pressure on ASEAN to maintain stability, ensure growth, and realize long-term development goals. Challenges such as strategic competition, supply chain disruptions, energy security, food security, and trade protectionism are directly impacting stability and the lives of people in the region. In response, the Philippines, as the ASEAN Chair, along with member countries, has proactively coordinated responses through various consultation and coordination mechanisms, including special ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meetings and ASEAN Economic Ministers' retreats to unify positions, assess impacts, and promote coordinated actions. This represents a new approach for ASEAN, demonstrating greater adaptability and effectiveness.
In this context, the 48th ASEAN Summit will provide an opportunity for leaders of the 11 ASEAN countries to comprehensively discuss regional and international situations, unify strategic directions, and make strategic decisions, thereby strengthening unity, enhancing resilience, and reaffirming ASEAN's strategic value. The summit will focus on three major priorities:
First, strengthening ASEAN's unity, resilience, and response capacity to urgent challenges, especially in essential areas such as energy security, food security, supply chain stability, and citizen support in emergencies.
Second, promoting the effective implementation of ASEAN's strategic priorities, particularly the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and key cooperation priorities during the Philippines' 2026 ASEAN Chairmanship.
Third, continuing to enhance ASEAN's common voice and central role based on upholding the rule of law, supporting multilateralism, deepening relations with partners, thereby contributing to maintaining a peaceful, stable, and conducive environment for development, while elevating ASEAN's position and role in the region and globally.
It can be said that this summit not only provides direction for ASEAN's new development path but also serves as an opportunity for ASEAN to affirm its resilience, adaptability, and determination to jointly build a peaceful, stable, sustainable, and people-centered region.
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| The second special ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting on the Middle East situation. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
For Vietnam, what is the significance, objectives, and priorities of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung's participation in this Summit, Deputy Minister?
At the invitation of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., the 2026 ASEAN Chair, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung will lead the high-level Vietnamese delegation attending the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu. This mission holds special significance as it marks his first overseas trip and his first participation in an ASEAN Summit in his new role.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung's participation strongly demonstrates Vietnam's consistent implementation of an independent, self-reliant, resilient, peaceful, friendly, cooperative, and developmental foreign policy, diversifying and multilateralizing foreign relations in line with the spirit of the 14th National Party Congress; while affirming that ASEAN remains a top strategic priority in Vietnam's overall foreign policy. This also sends a clear message of Vietnam's commitment to the ASEAN Community-building process, with a proactive, positive, responsible spirit and substantial, effective contributions to the Association's common work.
The overarching goal of the mission is to work with ASEAN countries to strengthen a peaceful, stable environment; maintain ASEAN's unity and central role; enhance response capacity to emerging challenges; thereby creating favorable conditions for sustainable development of the region and each member country, while promoting bilateral relations between Vietnam and ASEAN countries. In this spirit, Vietnam will focus on several major priorities:
Firstly, closely coordinating with ASEAN countries to effectively implement the priorities of the 2026 ASEAN Chairmanship and the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, aiming to build a resilient, dynamic, creative, and people-centered ASEAN Community.
Secondly, working with ASEAN to maintain a peaceful, secure, and stable environment; upholding international law and multilateralism; strengthening intra-group connectivity, while expanding and deepening relations with partners, thereby reinforcing ASEAN's central role in the regional architecture.
Thirdly, actively participating in the Summit's priority topics, especially urgent issues related to energy security, food security, and citizen support. Vietnam has proactively researched and prepared specific, practical proposals and initiatives to enhance ASEAN's collective response capacity to increasingly complex external changes and challenges.
On the occasion of the summit, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung is also expected to have meetings with ASEAN leaders to strengthen friendly relations, enhance political trust, and promote substantive, effective cooperation. These will also be his first direct meetings with ASEAN leaders in his new role.
I am confident that, with the special significance of this mission, along with a substantive working program and Vietnam's thorough preparation, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s participation in the 48th ASEAN Summit is expected to be a great success, continuing to affirm the image of a proactive, positive, sincere, and responsible Vietnam, ready to contribute to regional peace, stability, and ASEAN’s development, while further elevating Vietnam’s international standing and strengthening its relations with other member states.
Thank you, Deputy Minister!
