Ambassador Vu Ho, acting head of the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) delegation of Vietnam, attends a meeting held on January 28 to prepare for the AMM Retreat. (Photo: VNA)Following the meeting, Ambassador Vu Ho, acting head of theASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) delegation of Vietnam, told the VietnamNews Agency that as the first activity of the ASEAN Chair in 2024, the retreatidentified the focuses and priorities of the bloc’s cooperation this year.
Member countries highly valued this year’s theme, “ASEAN:Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience”, and agreed on the ninepriorities in terms of both connectivity and resilience that demonstrate theassociation’s common demand in the face of the era’s requirements.
With regard to “resilience”, ASEAN will focus on buildingstrategies for implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, consolidating thebloc’s centrality, promoting environmental cooperation, enhancing women andchildren’s engagement and contributions, and improving the regional healthcapacity. In terms of “connectivity”, it will boost the cohesion amongeconomies, foster inclusive and sustainable development, make transformationtowards a digital future, and bring into play the role of culture and artsduring the regional integration process, he said.
Ho noted that another highlight for ASEAN cooperation thisyear is the point of transition between the community building frameworks. In 2024,the bloc enters the final year for implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2025and prepares for the next period. Given this, it will be a busy year when theassociation prepares to make comprehensive reviews of the community blueprints2025 and build new cooperation strategies for 2045.
Last but not least was the message about solidarity, cooperation, andresilience delivered by ministers when they discussed international andregional situations, including strategic competitions among powerful countries,the issues of the East Sea and Myanmar, the Russia - Ukraine conflict, the MiddleEast, along with some ongoing processes like the implementation of the Declarationon the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), the drafting of a code ofconduct (COC) in the waters, and the implementation of the Five-Point Consensusto settle the issue of Myanmar.
This showed that ASEAN is deeply aware of theurgency of the issues emerging, as well as their impact on regional peace,security, stability, and sustainable development, Ho said, adding that throughsincere and straightforward discussions, member countries further respect thevalues of solidarity and unanimity, which have given ASEAN strength to surmountevery difficulty and obstacle in the past, at present, and in the future.
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (fifth from left) and his counterparts at the AMM Retreat in Luang Prabang, Laos, on January 29. (Photo: VNA)Ho cited Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son asaffirming that Vietnam will coordinate closely with Laos and other countries toeffectively carry out the specified priorities.
Theminister highlighted the significance of the building of an ASEAN resilient tocomplex developments and major challenges in the current context. He alsounderlined the importance of enhancing connectivity and asked ASEAN to tightendigital, institutional, infrastructure, and people-to-people connectivity,along with intra-bloc investment and trade.
Sonraised many important opinions and proposals about the Community buildingprocess, external relations, and regional and international issues of sharedconcern. Notably, Vietnam’s initiative of hosting the ASEAN Future Forum onfast, sustainable, and people-centred development, to take place inHanoi this April, attracted others’ attention.
Healso emphasised the need to build inclusive and comprehensive cooperationstrategies for 2045 with monitoring and assessment mechanisms to improve theculture of compliance and step up the building of a sustainable and balancedcommunity, Ambassador Ho said.
Regarding ASEAN’s cooperation with partners, Minister Son recommended ASEAN maintain a balanced approachto and work out a strategic vision in the implementation of external relations.He also suggested the bloc encourage its partners to participate in andresponsibly contribute to regional cooperation, assist ASEAN with the Communitybuilding, and advocate ASEAN’s centrality in the regional architecture.
The minister stressed that the bloc needs to sustainsolidarity and consensus, promote the strategic self-reliance, consolidate theprincipled stances on the issues of the East Sea and Myanmar, maintain abalanced and objective approach, and boost its role and voice in the issuesrelated to regional and international peace, security, stability, and sustainabledevelopment, according to the head of the ASEAN SOM delegation of Vietnam./.
VNA
