Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: ASEAN needs to strongly open markets and remove trade barriers

On November 11, ASEAN leaders attended the 40th ASEAN Summit, focusing on the process of building the ASEAN Community. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh led the Vietnamese delegation to the Summit.

Adoption of the Declaration on Timor Leste's Application for ASEAN Membership

Reporting to leaders on the ASEAN cooperation situation, ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi updated the progress of implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 on all three pillars with many positive results. The rate of implementing action lines in the political-security pillar reached 98%, with many cooperation activities in defense, cyber security, transnational crime prevention, justice, border management as well as in cooperation between ASEAN and partners.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the 40th ASEAN Summit.

Regional GDP growth is forecast to be positive at around 5% in 2022 and 2023, with trade and foreign investment progressing positively, despite global challenges from geopolitical tensions, rising inflation and tightening financial conditions. Services sectors, especially tourism, are expected to see a strong recovery thanks to widespread vaccination programmes.

ASEAN’s achievements over the past year are a strong testament to its resilience and adaptability. Countries affirmed that the factors that have contributed to ASEAN’s success, in the past, present and future, are the efforts and determination of all member countries to maintain ASEAN’s solidarity and centrality.

Based on the assessment report of the three pillars of politics-security, economy and culture-society, the leaders of the countries adopted the Declaration on Timor Leste's application to join ASEAN, expressing their support in principle for the admission of Timor Leste as the 11th member of ASEAN, and granting observer status to Timor Leste.

The conference assigned the ASEAN Coordinating Council to develop a roadmap for the country's accession to submit to the 42nd ASEAN Summit for consideration and decision. The conference also agreed to appoint Mr. Kao Kim Hourn as ASEAN Secretary-General for the 2023-2027 term.

Promoting the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam is ready to closely coordinate with Cambodia and ASEAN countries to ensure the success of the conferences.

The Prime Minister expressed his support for the 2022 theme of "Responding to Challenges Together" as extremely appropriate and timely. ASEAN's 55-year journey has shown that solidarity is a decisive factor in ASEAN's success and the strength for ASEAN to maintain stability in the current unstable context.

In that spirit, the Prime Minister affirmed that the more difficulties and challenges ASEAN faces, the more it needs to promote the spirit of "Community Thinking, Community Action", standing shoulder to shoulder, being self-reliant and proactively responding to all challenges. This is clearly demonstrated through ASEAN's achievements in pandemic prevention and economic recovery.

The head of the Vietnamese Government suggested that ASEAN promote lessons learned on cooperation and coordination in controlling, responding to and preventing the pandemic. In particular, the Prime Minister proposed holding a High-Level Forum to promote partnership for equitable recovery and sustainable growth in ASEAN, scheduled for the first half of 2023.

ASEAN leaders at the opening session of the conference.

With the motto of taking people as the center, the goal and driving force of the community building process, the Prime Minister proposed that the ASEAN Community Vision after 2025 pay due attention to all social groups, promote inclusive growth and ensure equitable enjoyment for all people.

At the same time, harmoniously link equitable development and sustainable growth and policies to promote hard and soft infrastructure in sub-regions with the common process of ASEAN to create resonance and development momentum for the entire region.

In the context of the regional and global economic downturn, the Prime Minister emphasized that ASEAN needs to strongly open its markets, remove trade barriers, and together create new growth drivers to catch up with the current major transformation trend. He suggested strengthening coordination in vocational training, especially in emerging economic sectors, to enhance flexible and effective adaptation capacity.

Along with the green development trend, countries need to strengthen cooperation in developing digital government, digital economy, green economy, circular economy, digital society, to make digital transformation, green economy, and circular economy truly become new development drivers in the region.

Together with leaders of ASEAN countries, the Prime Minister expressed his support in principle for Timor Leste to join ASEAN according to ASEAN procedures, thereby initially granting observer status to Timor Leste.

Regarding international and regional issues, the Prime Minister affirmed that ASEAN needs to play a central role, including promoting the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and making efforts to build an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

At the end of the Conference, ASEAN leaders adopted many important Statements such as the ASEAN Leaders' Vision Statement on "Responding to Challenges Together", the Statement on the 55th Anniversary of ASEAN's Establishment, and the Statement on the ASEAN Connectivity Agenda after 2025.