Future directions for ASEAN

Speaking in an interview ahead of the summit, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang noted that in the face of rapid and complex geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts, intensifying strategic competition, ongoing and escalating conflicts in various regions, growing global economic risks, and increasing non-traditional security challenges, ASEAN continues to stand out as a bright spot and a key driver of multilateral cooperation. The bloc has maintained its unity and centrality, achieving tangible and important results in strengthening economic connectivity, expanding external partnerships, and, notably, proactively shaping the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 - a strategic document charting the future direction of the region.

ASEAN has also actively adapted to emerging global trends by developing a series of new cooperation frameworks, including the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), the ASEAN Digital Master Plan, and the ASEAN Power Grid, among others.

The bloc’s mechanisms have continued to attract the attention, support, and participation of partners, particularly major powers - a testament to ASEAN’s growing power and its credibility as a trusted and flexible platform capable of harmonising interests and maintaining equilibrium in its partnerships.

As ASEAN is entering a new phase of development with a renewed vision, the diplomat said, the 47th ASEAN Summit and related meetings would provide an opportunity for leaders to exchange strategic decisions, reinforce a peaceful and stable environment, and foster deeper, more effective regional linkages.

These efforts are expected to unlock ASEAN’s development potential, expand its space for cooperation, and open new pathways for regional collaboration, he said.

The ASEAN Summit and related meetings are expected to unlock ASEAN’s development potential and turn the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 into tangible results. The key task ahead is to translate the Vision into action and transform commitments into outcomes through practical and efficient cooperation programmes that place people, businesses, and local communities at the centre of regional growth.

The admission of Timor-Leste as ASEAN’s 11th member represents not only a geographical expansion but also a strategic milestone that reflects the bloc’s vitality, inclusiveness, and enduring appeal. The participation of Timor-Leste will bring new momentum to regional integration and connectivity, further strengthening the cohesion and solidarity of the ASEAN Community.

At the same time, the meetings will open new directions for ASEAN’s cooperation with its partners, building on traditional areas such as trade and investment while expanding into strategic fields including innovation, digital transformation, energy transition, climate change response, and sustainable development. ASEAN and its partners are finalising several important cooperation frameworks to be adopted at the summits, laying the groundwork for substantive, effective, and mutually beneficial collaboration in pursuit of peace, stability, and inclusive, sustainable growth.

Vietnam’s active engagement and contritution

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to attend the 47th ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Malaysia.

According to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the year 2025 holds special significance as it marks the 30th anniversary of Vietnam’s membership in the ASEAN family - a journey built on sincerity, trust, and a strong sense of responsibility.

The Prime Minister’s engagement, on one hand, demonstrates Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, and multilateralization, contributing to the consolidation of peace and stability and creating favourable conditions for the realisation of the country’s strategic development goals in the coming period.

On the other hand, it reaffirms Vietnam’s proactive and responsible role in ASEAN, as the country actively contributes to the success of the meetings, deepening and enhancing the effectiveness of cooperation both within ASEAN and between ASEAN and its partners.

In a rapidly changing strategic environment, Vietnam will continue to take the lead, together with other member states, in strengthening ASEAN’s solidarity, centrality, resilience, and strategic autonomy, as well as improving the effectiveness of ASEAN’s political and security cooperation mechanisms and tools to address both traditional and non-traditional security challenges affecting peace and stability in the region.

Vietnam supports Timor-Leste’s official admission as ASEAN’s 11th member and will actively assist the country in connecting and fully integrating into ASEAN, said the diplomat.

He revealed that the Vietnamese delegation will also engage in candid and constructive exchanges on regional and international issues of mutual concern, upholding the values of dialogue, cooperation, and respect for international law, while promoting balanced and sustainable solutions that meet the common interests of all parties.

Vietnam will also propose concrete directions to effectively implement the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, towards a resilient, dynamic, innovative, and people-centred ASEAN. In this regard, ASEAN should strengthen economic integration, capitalise on the upgraded ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, deepen intra-bloc linkages and its network of FTAs with partners, and harness new growth drivers through frameworks such as negotiations on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, the development of the ASEAN Power Grid, and the implementation of the Blue Economy and Circular Economy frameworks.

Cooperation strategies in areas such as education, health, culture, labour, social welfare, and subregional development should be carried out responsibly, delivering tangible outcomes and practical benefits to people, businesses, and local communities.

Vietnam will also play a leading role in strengthening ASEAN’s engagement with its partners, reinforcing ASEAN’s central role in the evolving regional architecture. The country will work proactively with member states to deepen relations with partners, build trust, and encourage constructive and responsible participation in regional cooperation. It will seek to mobilise and utilise external resources effectively while expanding cooperation in potential areas such as digital transformation, digital economy, and green economy.

As the country coordinator for ASEAN–New Zealand relations, Vietnam will work closely with member states to successfully organise the Commemorative Summit marking the 50th anniversary of ASEAN–New Zealand relations (1975–2025), with a view to elevating the partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, opening a new phase of deeper and more substantive cooperation.

During the trip, the Prime Minister is also expected to hold several bilateral meetings with ASEAN leaders, partner countries, and international organisations to exchange views and propose initiatives to advance cooperation and find solutions to pressing regional and global challenges facing ASEAN and the region.

Through this working trip, Deputy Minister Giang said, Vietnam once again reaffirms the strategic importance of ASEAN in its foreign policy, as well as its consistent commitment to making active, proactive, and responsible contributions to building a united, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable ASEAN Community.

PM to attend 47th ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Malaysia

VOV.VN - A high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the 47th ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from October 25 – 28.