Together with ASEAN: United and Strong
With a proactive, positive, and responsible spirit, Vietnam is joining other member countries in entering a new development phase of ASEAN; where the spirit of unity, “hand in hand”, is always reinforced, aiming to realize a resilient, creative, dynamic ASEAN Community centered around its people.
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| The informal meeting between ASEAN Foreign Ministers and the Foreign Minister of Myanmar on July 12, in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
These are the overarching messages within the framework of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meetings in Thailand and the Philippines this time. The working trip attending the informal meeting between ASEAN Foreign Ministers and the Foreign Minister of Myanmar (July 12), officially visiting Indonesia, and co-chairing the 6th Meeting of the Vietnam-Indonesia Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (July 14) by Politburo Member, Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, along with the vibrant AMM 59 (July 18-24), also serves as concrete evidence for the principle emphasised by General Secretary, President To Lam at the Conference on the Resolution of the Politburo regarding the foreign policy of the 14th National Party Congress, which is that Vietnam needs to transition “from individual strength to growing strong together with ASEAN”.
Clearly, Vietnam's participation in the new context will be linked with practical synergy and support among ASEAN's cooperation programs and efforts to achieve high growth and sustainable development goals of Vietnam.
Myanmar: Always part of the ASEAN Family
The spirit of solidarity and ASEAN's central role in promoting dialogue and cooperation with Myanmar was emphasised by Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung and his regional counterparts at the informal meeting with the Myanmar Foreign Minister. This is the first time ASEAN Foreign Ministers have met Myanmar directly, and it is also the highest-level contact between ASEAN and the Myanmar Government since 2021.
The meeting demonstrates ASEAN's "words matched with actions" spirit, as the event was swiftly arranged based on recent directives from ASEAN Leaders at the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines, regarding continued exchanges on ways for ASEAN to maintain support and cooperation with Myanmar, adhering to the principles of the Five-Point Consensus.
At the meeting, the Ministers shared assessments of the situation and discussed specific measures to enhance effective coordination and support for Myanmar in the coming time, based on the substantive and effective implementation of the Five-Point Consensus – ASEAN's main guiding framework on the Myanmar issue.
The Ministers affirmed that ASEAN will continue to maintain dialogue with representatives of the Myanmar Government, facilitating the search for a long-term solution led and owned by Myanmar, aiming for peace, national reconciliation, stability, security, and prosperous development for the benefit of the Myanmar people and the entire region.
Affirming Vietnam's consistent stance of viewing Myanmar as an ASEAN member and the Five-Point Consensus as an important framework for the Association to continue accompanying this country, Minister Le Hoai Trung emphasised that Vietnam is ready to closely coordinate with the ASEAN Chair 2026 and member countries in promoting economic recovery, addressing social issues, combating transnational crime; enhancing bilateral and sub-regional cooperation, thereby contributing to peace, stability, and sustainable development of Myanmar and the region, as well as the process of building the ASEAN Community.
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| Politburo Member, Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung visits Indonesia and co-chairs the 6th Meeting of the Vietnam-Indonesia Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
A "anchor" for regional development
With a total population accounting for 60% and leading economic potential in ASEAN, the close cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia is the "anchor" for the region's stability and development. The tangible achievements during Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung's official visit to Indonesia contribute to reinforcing that argument.
Over more than 70 years of diplomatic relations, and especially since both sides agreed to elevate relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during General Secretary To Lam's visit to Indonesia in March 2025, bilateral cooperation in all fields has increasingly developed deeply and effectively, amidst a world situation with many fluctuations and an unfavorable international economic environment.
A highlight of this visit is that the Foreign Ministers of the two countries signed the Action Program to implement the Vietnam-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 2026-2030 period. This is considered a concrete step to realize the strategic vision agreed upon by the high-level leaders of the two countries, becoming a new important milestone in bilateral relations with many "aspirations" for cooperation in new, important fields such as high technology, innovation, energy, cross-border payments…
Recognizing the increasing investment demand from businesses of the two countries, both Ministers have specific suggestions to remove obstacles and clear bottlenecks. Minister Le Hoai Trung suggested that both sides facilitate businesses of the two countries to expand and diversify investment, especially in new, high-potential fields such as renewable energy, semiconductor industry, digital economy, electric vehicles, and Halal cooperation.
Sharing with The World and Vietnam Report, Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong stressed that with the goal of bringing bilateral trade turnover to 18 billion USD by 2028, emerging economic sectors will be the main growth drivers.
Specifically, the two countries are focusing on key areas. First, the electric vehicle ecosystem: With iconic projects such as VinFast's 1.2 billion USD factory and the presence of Xanh SM (Green SM) in Indonesia, both sides are deeply participating in the global green supply chain. Second, green economy and energy transition: Cooperation in carbon storage, renewable energy development, and implementing commitments to reduce net emissions to zero. Third, Halal industry: This is a vast potential for Vietnam's agricultural and aquatic products to penetrate deeply into the Indonesian market and the Islamic world. Fourth, digital economy and high-tech agriculture: Applying technology to enhance productivity and ensure food security in the region.
The current efforts of the two countries not only elevate bilateral cooperation to a new, higher, more substantive level, bringing practical benefits to the people and businesses of the two countries but also contribute to the common development and prosperity of ASEAN, becoming an example of bilateral cooperation under the "common home".
"As scheduled, once again"
The annual ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) plays an important role, serving as an occasion for Ministers to discuss and promote the specific implementation of directions agreed upon by ASEAN Leaders from the beginning of the year, address emerging issues that ASEAN needs to respond to, and propose, recommend cooperation directions for the next phase to report to ASEAN Leaders at the second high-level meeting of the year. The AMM sessions also gather the participation of all ASEAN partners, exchanging cooperation relations and issues of mutual concern related to peace, stability, and development in the region.
With this significance, AMM 59 is entrusted with many expectations for the milestones of ASEAN 2026, the first year ASEAN implements the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, and in the context of the Association striving to navigate through increasing fluctuations and uncertainties in the regional and international environment.
Sharing with The World and Vietnam Report, Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to ASEAN, Ambassador Ton Thi Ngoc Huong said that at this meeting, ASEAN Foreign Ministers will solemnly commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC, 1976-2026) with partners. After five decades, the principles stated in the TAC, committed to by 58 countries participating in the TAC, will continue to be emphasized as foundational principles for relations between nations, contributing to strengthening peace, security, stability, and cooperative development in the region.
In addition, at the meeting, ASEAN Foreign Ministers will exchange and comprehensively assess emerging international and regional issues, thereby consolidating consensus and unifying ASEAN's common stance. This will be reflected in the Joint Communiqué of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the most important document of the meeting, expressing ASEAN's unified stance on a range of strategic issues, from ASEAN Community building, foreign relations, to prominent security, economic, and social issues of the region and the world.
Notably, the Ministerial Meetings between ASEAN and partners are also a significant highlight at AMM 59. These exchanges not only enhance understanding and share perspectives on issues of mutual concern but also identify priority cooperation directions and fields in the coming time, thereby continuing to strengthen ASEAN's central role in the emerging regional structure. This year's meeting will also consider and decide on some important contents related to expanding the Association's partnership relations.
For Vietnam, its consistent contributions at AMM 59 will focus on two main aspects: Strengthening solidarity, unity, ASEAN's central role, enhancing effective response capacity to emerging challenges; at the same time, promoting substantive, effective cooperation within ASEAN and with partners, advancing regional integration processes supporting the development goals of each member country.
According to Ambassador Ton Thi Ngoc Huong, Vietnam will also continue to actively undertake rotating tasks in ASEAN at AMM 59, including the role of coordinating ASEAN-UK and ASEAN-New Zealand relations for the 2024-2027 period.
These are two partnerships that have seen many positive developments recently, with New Zealand just becoming ASEAN's Comprehensive Strategic Partner in 2025, and ASEAN and the United Kingdom celebrating five years of Dialogue Partnership. In its coordinating role, Vietnam leads negotiations on important documents, including the ASEAN-UK Action Plan for 2027-2031, the ASEAN-UK Declaration on cooperation within the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), and the ASEAN-New Zealand Declaration on Enhancing Regional Resilience. These documents not only reaffirm the commitment to cooperation between ASEAN and partners, emphasizing multilateral cooperation and adherence to international law, but also open up specific, practical cooperation directions, meeting the needs of ASEAN and partners in the coming period.
Thus, with the spirit of "growing strong with ASEAN", implementing Vietnam's foreign policy goals in the new era, Vietnam's participation and contributions in ASEAN and at the series of ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meetings this time, as well as in promoting relations with Indonesia, have projected a new image and stance of Vietnam, commensurate with the historical, cultural stature and the country's position.
| “Vietnam stands ready to closely coordinate with the ASEAN Chair 2026 and member countries to support Myanmar in economic recovery, addressing social issues, combating transnational crime, promoting bilateral and sub-regional cooperation, for peace, stability, sustainable development of Myanmar and the region, and contributing to the process of building the ASEAN Community”. Politburo Member, Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung |
