Ambassador Ton Thi Ngoc Huong: New vision, new journey, ASEAN is ready to rise up and make a breakthrough

General Secretary To Lam speaks at the ceremony to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Vietnam's accession to ASEAN at the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters on the occasion of his official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat on March 10. (Photo: Tuan Anh)

What are your expectations for the 46th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia?

2025 is a year of special significance for ASEAN: Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Community, the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the East Asia Summit (EAS), completing the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and moving to a new stage of development, with the adoption of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and strategic plans on pillars and fields.

With the theme “ Inclusive and Sustainable ”, Malaysia, the ASEAN Chair 2025, emphasized the following priorities: (i) Promoting ASEAN’s central role through promoting strategic trust among countries, promoting dialogue, diplomacy and goodwill; (ii) strengthening commitments to promote intra-bloc trade and investment, effectively utilizing advances in science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, new technology industries and (iii) ensuring inclusiveness and sustainability in ASEAN community building efforts, accelerating the narrowing of development gaps, improving people’s living standards and minimizing the impact of climate change.

Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to ASEAN, Ambassador Ton Thi Ngoc Huong chaired the 75th meeting of the ASEAN Integration Initiative Task Force on March 5. (Source: Vietnam Mission to ASEAN)

In that spirit and in the context of the rapidly changing and unpredictable world political and economic situation, increasingly fierce and direct competition between major powers, affecting the region and ASEAN, the 46th ASEAN Summit, the first ASEAN Summit in 2025, is an opportunity for ASEAN countries to affirm their commitment to strengthening solidarity, enhancing cooperation, promoting the central role and self-reliance of ASEAN, firmly moving to a new stage of development, and at the same time, standing firm against the world's unstable spirals.

The Summit is expected to adopt the “Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN 2045: Our Common Future” and the “ASEAN Community Vision 2045” documents, demonstrating the highest political determination of ASEAN Leaders to join hands in building a strong, self-reliant, creative, dynamic, people-centered and future-ready ASEAN Community.

At the conference, ASEAN leaders will discuss and agree on important cooperation orientations of ASEAN in 2025 and for the new period until 2045; exchange and affirm ASEAN's common views on emerging geopolitical and geo-economic issues. On this occasion, ASEAN leaders will also meet with leaders of China and member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), seeking opportunities to promote cooperation for stability, development and prosperity in each region and in the world.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the High-level Plenary Session at the ASEAN Future Forum on February 25. (Photo: Tuan Anh)

The ASEAN Community Vision 2045 is being “conceived” with many expectations. Could you please share your views on the opportunities and challenges of the new roadmap for the new development phase of ASEAN as well as the atmosphere within ASEAN in the new context?

The ASEAN Community Vision 2045 is an important document that guides long-term cooperation for ASEAN over the next 20 years, following previous vision documents, which are usually only 10 years in length.

The idea of building a post-2025 Vision for ASEAN was "conceived" in 2020 during Vietnam's term as ASEAN Chair, officially launched in 2022, and completed in 2025, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Community's formation.

There are indeed many expectations for this vision: Expectations for a stronger, more stable, and more mature ASEAN after 10 years of becoming a Community and 58 years of existence and development; a community capable of leading member countries to overcome challenges and instabilities, taking advantage of opportunities opened up by the strong development of science and technology, to accelerate and make breakthroughs; expectations for 670 million people in the region to continue to live in peace, stability, have a prosperous and comfortable life, in a green, clean, and sustainable environment; expectations for a more proactive and positive role, image, and position of the Association in the region and in the world.

Along with those expectations, opportunities and challenges always come.

The opportunities for ASEAN in the next 20 years are the development trends of science, technology, and innovation in the world; the advantage of being in one of the most dynamic economic development regions in the world; the need for increased cooperation between ASEAN member countries, between countries inside and outside the region and ASEAN, including new opportunities to expand and diversify economic relations, develop...

Regarding challenges, we can mention both inherent challenges and emerging challenges: The ability to maintain solidarity and unity within the bloc, harmonizing diverse interests; the large development gap; pressure from strategic competition between major countries; the ability to take advantage of opportunities from science and technology development, digital transformation, green transformation, as well as the capacity to respond to and handle emerging issues...

ASEAN leaders are well aware of both the opportunities and challenges facing ASEAN. As General Secretary To Lam said at the 30th Anniversary of Vietnam joining ASEAN during his official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat on March 9: Difficulties and challenges are the driving force for innovation and development, and it is in these challenges and difficulties that opportunities arise for ASEAN to rise up and assert its new position.

It is important that the commitment and importance that member countries attach to ASEAN is consistent and increasingly strengthened. The roadmap to concretize the goals for the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 has been demonstrated through the Strategic Plans to promote cooperation in the pillars and accompanying areas. From vision to action, ASEAN countries will need to invest both resources, political will and a flexible and responsive approach to effectively and timely implement the set goals.

Ambassador Ton Thi Ngoc Huong attended the photo exhibition celebrating 50 years of ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Partnership at the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters on May 8. (Photo: Vietnamese Mission to ASEAN)

Working directly in the “heart” of ASEAN – where the ASEAN Secretariat is located, how does the Ambassador feel about the attractiveness of ASEAN in the eyes of regional and international partners; the influence of ASEAN in efforts to promote peace and cooperation?

Some data can be seen as follows: There are 55 countries in and outside the region that have signed the document of participation in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) of ASEAN, demonstrating respect and commitment to the guiding principles in relations between countries in the region initiated by ASEAN.

There are 94 countries sending Ambassadors to ASEAN, of which 10 countries send Ambassadors and establish specialized Delegations to ASEAN. The number of countries requesting to become Dialogue Partners, Sectoral Partners, Development Partners, requesting to hold Summits with ASEAN, requesting to participate in ASEAN-led mechanisms, wishing to join the TAC... continues to increase.