Efforts to deepen ASEAN cooperation with partners, contributing to peace, stability and sustainable development

On the afternoon of July 10, continuing the series of activities of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the ASEAN+1 Ministerial Meetings with partners from Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United States and the ASEAN+3 Ministerial Meeting.

Speaking at the Conferences, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son emphasized the importance of promoting comprehensive cooperation between ASEAN and its partners, closely linked to the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

At the Conferences, ASEAN countries and partners pledged to deepen their relations in a practical and effective manner. In the context of unpredictable changes in the region and the world , the countries emphasized the need to enhance dialogue, cooperation, and coordinated actions to respond to common challenges, actively contributing to the maintenance of peace, security, and stability, and creating favorable conditions to promote inclusive and sustainable growth.

The partners affirmed their support for ASEAN's central role and support for ASEAN in implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, with special priority given to the areas of digital transformation, innovation, green transformation, energy transformation, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

At the ASEAN-Japan Conference, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya emphasized that over the past half century, bilateral relations have always been nurtured on a solid foundation of friendship, cooperation, trust and co-creation.

Japan is committed to strengthening multi-level cooperation, working with ASEAN to address international and regional issues, and promoting global governance to co-create the future.

The countries highly appreciated the dynamic and substantive development of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with more than 60% of the action lines in the Action Plan implemented over the past year.

The Ministers stressed the need to promptly upgrade the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to accommodate new growth areas in digital, green and supply chain development.

ASEAN welcomes Japan's support in improving the investment environment, developing small and medium enterprises, promoting sustainable growth, narrowing the development gap, and developing sub-regions.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya emphasized that over the past half century, bilateral relations have always been nurtured on a solid foundation of friendship, cooperation, trust and co-creation. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

At the ASEAN-Russia Conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov affirmed that ASEAN is a reliable partner of Russia, committed to promoting equal cooperation on the basis of the United Nations Charter, and actively contributing to maintaining stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

The meeting noted that about 75% of the measures in the Action Plan for the period 2021-2025 have been completed. The countries welcomed the first ASEAN+Russia Senior Officials’ Consultation on Digital Cooperation earlier this year, creating a favorable basis for enhancing digital cooperation in the coming time.

The Ministers agreed to promote economic cooperation, especially in the fields of digital economy, innovation, supply chain, sustainable tourism, clean energy and development of small and medium enterprises.

ASEAN highly appreciated the role of the ASEAN-Eurasian Economic Union Business Forum and the ASEAN-Russia Business Council in connecting the business communities of the two sides.

In the socio-cultural field, ASEAN welcomed Russia's initiative to organize the ASEAN-Russia Young Diplomats Summit and noted the proposal to establish the ASEAN-Russia Senior Officials Meeting on Youth mechanism.

The two sides will continue to promote the development of the ASEAN-Russia Action Plan for the 2026-2030 period and carry out preparations for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations in 2026.

At the ASEAN-Korea Summit , First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Park Yoonjoo affirmed Korea's commitment to continue deepening and expanding relations with ASEAN on the basis of trust, respect and mutual benefit, sharing the similarities between ASEAN's theme of "Inclusiveness and Sustainability" and APEC's theme of "Creating a Sustainable Future" in Korea this year, wishing to strengthen coordination to optimize the resonance between these two important mechanisms.

The countries assessed that ASEAN-Korea relations are at their strongest stage of development with the milestone of establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in October 2024. The two sides highly appreciated the results of implementing the Action Plan for the 2021-2025 period, reaching a completion rate of 94.5%, and agreed to adopt a new Action Plan for the 2026-2030 period.

The Ministers acknowledged the efforts to prepare for negotiations to upgrade the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement, ensuring the Agreement's relevance to the current world economic context.

ASEAN welcomes cooperation initiatives for the security and sustainable future of the people such as the US$10 million High Performance Computing Infrastructure Project, the ASEAN-Korea Startup Partnership, the US$20 million Methane Reduction Project, and many cooperation programs in specialized channels on narrowing the development gap, connecting sub-regions, and supporting green transformation.

Overview of the ASEAN-US Conference. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

At the ASEAN-US Summit, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed that the Indo-Pacific region continues to be a focus of US foreign policy, emphasizing the US's long-term commitment to ASEAN and ASEAN as the key mechanism for the US to strengthen regional engagement.

The United States expressed its desire to continue discussing specific areas of cooperation within the framework of the ASEAN-U.S. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The countries welcomed the 100% implementation of the 2021-2025 Action Plan, with progress in all areas.

The United States is currently the second largest trading partner and largest investor in ASEAN, with total two-way trade reaching more than 450 billion USD and US foreign direct investment in ASEAN reaching 42 billion USD by 2024.

ASEAN affirmed its desire to engage in constructive dialogue with the United States to maintain stable, fair, sustainable and mutually beneficial trade relations. The Ministers agreed to accelerate the implementation of the ASEAN-US Digital Work Plan, focusing on areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, regional submarine cables, and combating online fraud.

The two sides highly appreciated cooperation in clean energy and energy transition, in which the United States supported the construction of the ASEAN Power Grid and coordinated the implementation of the ASEAN-US Energy Cooperation Plan for the 2021–2025 period.

Programs such as the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), Fulbright Scholarships, and Science and Technology Innovation Center (STIC) continue to promote people-to-people exchanges, education, research, and innovation in the region.

At the ASEAN+3 Foreign Ministers' Meeting , the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea all emphasized that the ASEAN+3 cooperation mechanism needs to promote its specific strengths to respond to the current volatile economic situation and support a fair and rules-based multilateral trading system.

The Ministers committed to continue effectively implementing the Work Plan for the 2023-2027 period, focusing on the areas of digital economy, digital finance, capacity building, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, ensuring a flexible, sustainable and resilient regional supply chain, and developing sustainable, green and smart infrastructure.

The countries also committed to expanding the Asian Bond Market Initiative (ABMI) and the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) mechanism, to strengthen financial network safety and improve financial risk response capabilities.

The Ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation to ensure energy and food security, develop smart agriculture and renewable energy, support the green transition and sustainable growth of the region.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister affirmed ASEAN's principled stance on international and regional issues. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

Speaking at the Conferences, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son emphasized the importance of promoting comprehensive cooperation between ASEAN and its partners, closely linked to the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
In the context of many changes in the international and regional context, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister suggested that countries promote dialogue, build trust, shape an inclusive, transparent regional structure based on international law with ASEAN at the center, and strengthen cooperation to respond to non-traditional challenges such as cyber security, energy security and food security.

Vietnam affirms ASEAN's principled stance on international and regional issues such as the East Sea and the Korean Peninsula, and calls on partners to support efforts to build the East Sea into a sea of ​​peace, stability, cooperation, and sustainable development.

Regarding economic cooperation, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister proposed promoting supply chain connectivity, developing the digital economy, green transformation, sustainable trade and supporting micro, small and medium enterprises.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister suggested that ASEAN partners soon upgrade free trade agreements, including the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement, and step up support for the implementation of new initiatives such as the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement and the ASEAN Power Grid.

Vietnam also proposed prioritizing energy cooperation and considering the possibility of establishing a regional energy agreement, aiming to ensure sustainable energy security and a fair energy transition.

Overview of the ASEAN+3 Ministerial Meeting. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister emphasized the role of people-to-people exchanges in fostering trust and friendship, highly appreciated youth, student and expert exchange programs between ASEAN and its partners, and proposed creating more favorable conditions for ASEAN citizens to study, work and reside in partner countries.

On July 11, the Foreign Ministers will continue their working program with the ASEAN+1 Ministerial Meetings with the UK and the European Union, the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/no-luc-dua-hop-tac-asean-voi-cac-doi-tac-di-vao-chieu-sau-dong-cong-cho-hoa-binh-an-dinh-va-phat-trien-ben-vung-320570.html