Vietnam greatly values ties with ASEAN: President Phuc

Talking to ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and Ambassadors and Chargé d’Affaires of member states at the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters in Jakarta, President Phuc, currently on a State visit to Indonesia, said that over the past years, despite complicated and unpredictable developments in the international and regional situation, a united ASEAN has stood firm. Indeed, it has matured and grown stronger, with its reputation greatly enhanced and its central role in the international arena confirmed.

This can be considered a result of the co-operation and joint efforts of each member of the ASEAN community, he affirmed.

Moving into 2023, Indonesia are set to hold the ASEAN Chairmanship with the theme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”, with President Phuc expressing his wish that Indonesia will have a successful chairmanship year.

The Vietnamese leader went on to affirm that Secretary-General Lim’s efforts have helped the bloc to develop strongly amidst difficulties, successfully carry out initiatives to drive back the COVID-19 pandemic, and boost recovery.

President Phuc expressed his hope that the official, in any position, will continue his contributions to the bloc’s overall development.

In his speech, ASEAN Secretary General Lim emphasized that Vietnamese admission as a member state in 1995 was a historic landmark which set into motion and created momentum for the bloc to embrace other Southeast Asian nations.

Over the past 27 years, the country has made important contributions to ASEAN’s unity and centrality, exemplified by prominent contributions such as the Hanoi Declaration and Hanoi Plan of Action in 1998. Additionally, the most recent success of the nation’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020 with the theme “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN” constitutes an important contribution to the bloc’s Community building process.

According to him, together with other member states, the Vietnamese side has made invaluable contribution in developing ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision, as well as in ASEAN’s in-principle decision to admit Timor-Leste as a member. Along with this, as the Chair of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Task Force last year, the country played a leading role in being a strong driver of the initiative towards narrowing the development gap between ASEAN member states.

The Secretary-General therefore expressed his strong belief that with its full backing to integration and dedicated leadership, Vietnam will continue to make greater contributions to the development of a forward-looking ASEAN which leaves no one behind.