Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s participation in ASEAN Summit conveys message of a dynamic, strongly rising Vietnam: Deputy FM Dang Hoang Giang
WVR/VNA - Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and a high-level Vietnamese delegation returned to Hanoi late on May 8, concluding their trip to attend the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines from May 7 to 8.
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| Prime Minister Le Minh Hung along with ASEAN delegation leaders attend the opening session of the 48th ASEAN Summit. (Source: VNA) |
Immediately after the conclusion of the meetings, Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang spoke to the press about the outcomes of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s participation in the 48th ASEAN Summit.
Deputy Minister, could you evaluate the outcomes of this Summit, particularly the notable contributions of the Vietnamese delegation?
The 48th ASEAN Summit was a resounding success with many crucial and substantial results. It was also deemed a very timely conference for ASEAN amidst the complex developments in the world and the region, particularly the crisis in the Middle East.
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| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang answers the press. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
In this context, ASEAN leaders reached a high consensus on comprehensive and inclusive response measures, both short-term and long-term, across all pillars, from political-security, economic to socio-cultural, ensuring security and safety for ASEAN citizens. This not only helps ASEAN overcome immediate difficulties, enhancing its proactivity and resilience, ready to respond to future incidents, but also aims to achieve long-term goals according to the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
Specifically, ASEAN adopted the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on responding to the crisis in the Middle East, emphasizing strengthening ASEAN unity and mutual support among member countries; enhancing inter-sectoral coordination, early warning, and establishing emergency communication mechanisms; accelerating the effective implementation of agreements and cooperation plans on oil and gas, energy-food connectivity, as well as enhancing consular cooperation and citizen support, especially for migrant workers in affected areas.
Leaders emphasized that while prioritizing overcoming immediate challenges, ASEAN needs to seriously implement set plans to achieve long-term goals according to the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. In this, political-security cooperation is the top priority to ensure regional security, peace, and stability, through strengthening unity, political trust, and promoting ASEAN-led mechanisms, based on adherence to international law and multilateralism.
ASEAN will continue to focus on enhancing economic, trade, and investment cooperation, implementing the newly upgraded ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), completing negotiations on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), leveraging new development drivers, supporting small and medium enterprises, enhancing infrastructure connectivity, diversifying markets, and expanding economic connectivity through FTA with partners. Additionally, it is essential to ensure that people are truly at the center of the ASEAN Community, prioritizing resources for social welfare and well-being, enhancing people's capacity, especially the youth, to meet the demands of the digital and AI era.
The high-level Vietnamese delegation led by Prime Minister Le Minh Hung participated and made significant contributions to the success of the Summit, affirming the foreign policy of the 14th Party Congress that continues to value ASEAN and commits to actively, positively, and responsibly contributing with other countries to build a united and strong ASEAN Community.
In his first participation in the ASEAN Summit as Prime Minister, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung proposed numerous initiatives contributing to ASEAN's common solutions, to strengthen unity and enhance ASEAN's resilience in responding to current situations and towards the future, ensuring that people benefit from ASEAN's achievements.
Vietnam's proposals prioritize ensuring a peaceful and stable environment to promote and facilitate ASEAN's sustainable development, so that ASEAN people can live prosperous and happy lives. Vietnam's measures are comprehensive, from peace, security, stability; strengthening intra-regional solidarity; to enhancing intra-regional economic-trade connectivity, removing trade barriers within ASEAN; expanding ASEAN's external relations; expanding ASEAN's space through connectivity, signing economic agreements with external partners, as well as enhancing ASEAN cooperation and connectivity in ensuring energy security, food security, and human security.
Vietnam's proposals were welcomed, supported, and highly appreciated by ASEAN member countries for their content and timeliness. Based on Vietnam's and other countries' proposals, ASEAN adopted the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Priority Actions to Strengthen Regional Resilience in Response to the Consequences of the Middle East Situation.
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| Prime Minister Le Minh Hung with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone having breakfast and working. (Source: VNA) |
Could the Deputy Minister share the main outcomes of the bilateral meetings of the Vietnamese delegation with countries and partners during this occasion?
On the occasion of attending the 48th ASEAN Summit, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung held meetings, exchanges, and contacts with ASEAN leaders, the ASEAN Secretary-General, and the Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Although brief, these meetings were very substantive, directly addressing important issues, resolving obstacles, thereby promoting substantive cooperation between Vietnam and its partners. I noticed three noteworthy points:
Firstly, establishing personal relationships between Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and ASEAN leaders, contributing to enhancing political trust between Vietnam and other countries. In the meetings, leaders congratulated Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on his new position, expressing the desire to closely coordinate to promote bilateral relations with Vietnam, a key and important partner sharing many common interests amidst the current regional and global fluctuations and challenges.
Secondly, affirming the common determination to strengthen bilateral relations, agreeing on many practical solutions. Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and ASEAN leaders extensively discussed measures to enhance political trust, boost economic, trade, investment, security-defense, culture-education, and tourism cooperation, while emphasizing the priority of addressing challenges related to energy security, food security, and expanding cooperation into new, potential areas such as infrastructure connectivity, green transition, circular economy, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence.
In trilateral exchanges with Laos and Cambodia, the three Prime Ministers agreed to direct the three countries' agencies to actively coordinate in implementing the results of the tripartite meeting of the three Party Heads (February 2026), bringing about qualitative changes in cooperation among the three countries, creating new development spaces. In exchanges with the President of the Asian Development Bank, ADB committed to continuing to be a reliable partner for Vietnam in the new development era, better meeting the resource needs for Vietnam and its members.
Thirdly, partners highly value Vietnam's role in ASEAN and the international community. In the meetings, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and leaders spent considerable time discussing recent regional and international situations, especially the challenges posed by the conflict in the Middle East. Leaders believe that in the context of complex global and regional developments, Vietnam and other countries need to enhance cooperation, coordinate perspectives within the ASEAN and United Nations frameworks, and promote ASEAN's central role in addressing international and regional issues. ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn affirmed that after more than 30 years of joining, Vietnam has become one of ASEAN's key members and believes that a strong, prosperous Vietnam will contribute significantly to the ASEAN Community-building process.
In summary, within just over 30 hours, the Prime Minister had a packed schedule with about 20 important bilateral and multilateral activities, yielding very substantive and effective results, spreading the message of a dynamic, innovative, integrated, and strongly rising Vietnam, a positive, responsible member with many contributions to the ASEAN community, creating favorable premises and momentum to advance Vietnam's relations with partners both in breadth and depth in the coming time.
Thank you, Deputy Minister!
