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Key chance for ASEAN leaders
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister Dung stressed that, as the final summit to be hosted by Vietnam in its capacity as ASEAN Chair 2020, the 37th ASEAN Summit offers an opportunity for the grouping to review intra-bloc cooperation throughout the year as well as its cooperation with partners, while charting priorities in the future.
It is also an opportunity for ASEAN leaders to meet with leaders of major ASEAN partners, despite the fact that the summit takes place amid COVID-19 and the complex developments in the global and regional strategic environment and traditional and non-traditional security issues.
The summit is also a key chance for ASEAN leaders to affirm their commitments and strong political resolve to maintain cooperation momentum and regional connectivity to cope with the pandemic and consolidate ASEAN’s centrality and position, along with outlining the bloc’s development orientations in a rapidly, complexly, and unforeseeably changing world.
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| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and General Secretary of the National ASEAN 2020 Committee, Nguyen Quoc Dung, speaking at the event. |
20 activities at the highest-level
Within the framework of the Summit, there will be 20 activities at the highest-level, including the 37th ASEAN Summit, ASEAN+1 with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, the US, the UN and Australia, the 15th East Asia Summit (EAS), and the 4th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), among others.
According to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, during the summits with partners, leaders will focus on building the ASEAN Community, maintaining intra-bloc cooperation momentum, expanding and deepening relations between ASEAN and partners, promoting the grouping’s centrality, raising its international position, ensuring COVID-19 prevention and control, and discussing regional and international issues of shared concern.
The opening ceremony of the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings is slated for the morning of November 12, with the presence of Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong. Vietnam is expected to symbolically hand over the ASEAN Chairmanship to Brunei at the closing ceremony on November 15.
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Promising outcomes
Outcomes of the mid-term review of the Master Plan on ASEAN Community 2025 and the ASEAN comprehensive recovery framework will be announced following a plenary session of the 37th ASEAN Summit, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung. The establishment of a regional medical supplies reserve in response to medical emergencies will also be unveiled.
Notably, the ASEAN women leaders’ summit will be held for the first time, under the chair of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, with the participation of female leaders from ASEAN member countries. The Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will deliver a speech at the summit.
More than 80 documents, including proposals by Viet Nam, are set to be approved on this occasion; the highest number to date. According to the Deputy FM, all preparations for the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings have been completed in line with COVID-19 prevention and control measures.
| Answering reporters’ question regarding the RCEP, Dung said negotiations over the agreement have been completed and participating countries are working on internal procedures for signing. If these procedures are completed in a timely manner, the deal is expected to be signed on November 15. He also affirmed that, the agreement will create momentum for regional trade, particularly between signatories, Moreover, the signing holds great meaning for Viet Nam, as it has worked hard as ASEAN Chair to accelerate the process. |
