Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam will work with other ASEAN member states to strengthen regional unity, resilience and practical cooperation, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang.
Ahead of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s attendance at the 49th ASEAN Summit and related summits in Manila, the Philippines from November 14-17, the Deputy FM told the press about the significance and key focuses of the upcoming ASEAN Summits, as well as Vietnam's objectives and priorities in attending the meetings.
According to him, the summits will provide an important opportunity for regional leaders to review the Philippines' ASEAN Chairmanship, assess the first year of implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, and set cooperation priorities for the period ahead.
They will take place amid rapid and complex changes in the global and regional landscape. Strategic competition, economic uncertainties and cross-border challenges are placing ASEAN under pressure to strengthen its immediate response capacity while consolidating the foundations for long-term development.
Against this backdrop, the Philippines has worked to fulfil its role as ASEAN Chair, joining other member states in advancing priorities related to peace, security, economic integration and improved livelihoods.
In the first year of implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, ASEAN has continued to promote intra-regional integration, develop new economic cooperation frameworks and strengthen ties with external partners. However, further efforts are needed to improve coordination and address bottlenecks in implementing commitments, ensuring that cooperation delivers tangible benefits.
At the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, regional leaders agreed on a range of measures to strengthen the bloc's collective response capacity, particularly in energy security, food security, supply chain stability and assistance for citizens, he said.
Building on these outcomes, the upcoming summits are expected to inject fresh momentum into translating decisions into action and commitments into results, while maintaining progress in ASEAN Community building amid ongoing uncertainties.
On the basis of the priorities of the 2026 ASEAN Chairmanship and existing cooperation outcomes, the summits are expected to focus on three key areas.
The first is strengthening ASEAN unity, resilience and strategic autonomy; enhancing consultation, coordination and mutual support in preventing and responding to challenges, and maintaining a peaceful, secure and stable environment for development.
The second is promoting the effective implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 by strengthening coherence and complementarity among commitments, initiatives and the bloc's cooperation pillars. Priorities include economic integration and connectivity, harnessing new growth drivers and addressing cross-sectoral and cross-border challenges, ensuring that people and businesses enjoy tangible benefits from the Community-building process.
The third is reinforcing ASEAN's centrality in the regional architecture and expanding and deepening partnerships on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, while mobilising resources to support development priorities; promoting ASEAN’s common voice and role in promoting dialogue, cooperation and respect for international law, contributing to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond.
Meanwhile, the 15th ASEAN-AIPA Leaders' Interface, scheduled for November 14-15, and the 47th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) General Assembly, on November 17-18, will provide opportunities to strengthen complementarity between intergovernmental and inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Through their legislative, oversight and representative functions, national parliaments help create favourable conditions for the effective implementation of regional commitments. Closer coordination will help translate cooperation priorities into action at the national level, bringing the ASEAN Community-building process closer to the people.
According to the Deputy FM, at the invitation of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., Chair of ASEAN 2026, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung will lead a high-level Vietnamese delegation to the 49th ASEAN Summit and related summits in Manila, the Philippines, from November 14-17.
The trip will serve to concretise Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, resilience, multilateralisation and diversification, in line with the spirit of the 14th National Party Congress and the Politburo and Party Central Committee Secretariat’s guidelines on foreign affairs and international integration. It will also reaffirm ASEAN's position as Vietnam's foremost strategic priority in its foreign policy.
Building on Vietnam's proposals and contributions at the 48th ASEAN Summit, the country will focus on advancing commitments, removing bottlenecks and improving the effectiveness of cooperation. Its overarching approach is to strengthen unity to enhance collective strength, promote integration to bolster resilience, and measure results by the tangible benefits delivered to people and businesses.
Giang said Vietnam willfocus on three priorities. First, it will work with other ASEAN members to maintain an environment of peace, security and stability as the strategic foundations for building a resilient, innovative, dynamic and people-centred ASEANCommunity by 2045. Vietnam will continue to promote consensus, narrow differences, uphold ASEAN's fundamental principles and international law, advance dialogue and ASEAN-led mechanisms, and strengthen the bloc's unity and centrality.
Second, the country will deliver tangible progress in integration while enhancing ASEAN's competitiveness and resilience. Key areas will include economic, trade, infrastructure and supply chain connectivity; removing intra-regional barriers; and promoting science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and green transition. It will also strengthen coordination on energy security, food security and human security, reinforcing the foundations for sustainable regional development.
Third, Vietnam will further deepen cooperation with external partners and effectively mobilising resources to serve ASEAN's development priorities. PM Hung's co-chairing of the Mekong-Japan Summit with his Japanese counterpart will be a concrete, practical step to promote connectivity and sustainable development and narrow the development gap, contributing to ASEAN Community building.
In addition, bilateral meetings between the Vietnamese PM and leaders of other countries and international organisations on the sidelines of the summits will help strengthen political trust between Vietnam and its partners, advance existing agreements, clear obstacles and expand cooperation opportunities. These engagements will also help Vietnam combine multilateral diplomacy with the advancement of bilateral relations, maximising resources for national development.
Notably, the participation of National Assembly President Tran Thanh Man and a high-ranking Vietnamese parliamentary delegation in AIPA-47 and related activities will provide an opportunity to strengthen synergies between State diplomacy and parliamentary diplomacy. The two Vietnamese delegations will work together to advance shared priorities, linking cooperation orientations with legislative development, oversight and the implementation of commitments, thereby translating regional cooperation into concrete outcomes.
Through its participation in ASEAN and AIPA activities, Vietnam will send a consistent message: proactive in proposing initiatives, responsible in fulfilling commitments and practical in action, working together with other countries to build a united, resilient and people-centred ASEAN, the diplomat said./.
