Illustrative image (Photo: AFP) Hanoi (VNA) – Head of the Foreign Ministry’s ASEAN Department Vu Ho has saidthe Special ASEAN Summit and Special ASEAN+3 Summit on COVID-19 Response, to beheld online for the first time on April 14, will enable ASEAN leaders to affirmtheir determination to build a cohesive and responsive community.
Talking with the press about difficulties in organising theevent and preparations for its agenda, Ho said it is the first time in the50-year history of the region a special summit will be held online with theparticipation of leaders of 13 countries, international organisations and theWorld Health Organisation.
According to him, the first difficulty is how to arrange suitabletime for leaders to join the event and make speeches over 4-5 different timezones. The second is ASEAN process and procedures that must both ensure theimage of regional solidarity and consensus and the positive outcomes of theevent.
Asked about the significance of the summits, Ho said participantswill discuss policy coordination, approaches and solutions to deal with the pandemic's impact on regional political and socio-economic aspects, towards a region ofsafety, peace and stability.
Since the outset of COVID-19, ASEAN has made positive moves,including launching the ASEAN Community Council (ACC) mechanism led by foreignministers. With Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham BinhMinh as its Chairman, the ACC has taken concerted measures in the fields ofhealth care, military medicine, economy and trade with an aim to effectivelycontaining the spread of the pandemic.
In order to achieve sustainable development in the future, Hosuggested preventing COVID-19 from hurting international cooperation, dialoguesand cooperation.
In face of challenges arising from the pandemic, he said it istime for Vietnam to play its active role and uphold the sense of responsibilityfor the community in its capacity as the ASEAN Chair in line with thetheme “Cohesive and Responsive” initiated by the country.
Since the COVID-19 broke out earlier this year, Vietnam has actively shared information andexperience via medical channels.
On February 14, in Vietnam’s capacity as the ASEAN Chair 2020, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued the ASEAN Chairman’s Statement on the bloc’sresponse to the outbreak of the epidemic. With the directions of Vietnam, ASEANissued declarations on COVID-19 prevention and control during online meetingsof ASEAN Health Ministers, ASEAN 3 Health Ministers, and ASEAN DefenceMinisters’ Retreat.
Apart from internal discussions in the past month, ASEAN alsoheld online talks with the European Union and China, and will do the same with US in the futureto discuss anti-COVID-19 measures.
Regarding economic recovery, Ho said member states are workingclosely together to maintain economic connectivity and offer aid packages. Heexpressed his hope that they will resume talks on political, security, economicand socio-cultural issues so as to restore international relations when the pandemic ends.
Ho also said that following the summits, ASEAN and ASEAN+3declarations on COVID-19 response will be issued with a range of measures.
According to him, leaders will pledge to continue building anopen and rules-based trade system, ensuring that supply chains will not bedisrupted. They also plan to set up strategic medical reserves to respond tocontingencies, which is also a long-term solution to counter epidemics in theregion.
Cooperation remains a mainstream among regional countries, hesaid, adding that nations should have a common, suitable and balanced approachto development. To such end, policy coordination is of significance to meetpublic demand and maintain the development of economies./.
