Vietnam proposes strengthening ASEAN – partner cooperation

Addressing the 26th ASEAN – China Summit, Chinh noted that both ASEAN and China treasure a mutual bond, creating a solid foundation for their comprehensive strategic partnership to develop strongly.

As ASEAN and China are each other’s leading trading partners, he proposed that both sides improve the quality of economic, trade and investment cooperation, maintain smooth trade, promote connectivity, secure production and supply chains, and expand cooperation in developing the digital economy and green economy.

He suggested that China increase the import of goods, accelerate the opening of its market for farm products from ASEAN countries, including transshipment through Vietnam, and increase the quota of goods in transit by railway from China to a third country.

He expressed hope that ASEAN and China will be not only each other’s largest economic and trade partners but also serve as a positive factor in promoting trust building, strengthening dialogue, and peacefully resolving disputes in the region, including in the East Sea, in line with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The leaders of ASEAN and China adopted a joint statement on mutually beneficial cooperation based on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and a joint statement on deepening agricultural cooperation.

At the 24th ASEAN – Korea Summit, Chinh welcomed Seoul’s Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative (KASI) aimed at taking their partnership to new heights. Marking 35 years of their relationship in 2024, the Vietnamese PM suggested that the two sides work closely together to open a new journey with a longer vision and higher goals.

Accordingly, he emphasized the need to make great strides in economic cooperation, promote trade and investment cooperation in a balanced and sustainable direction.

At the same time, he expected that the Republic of Korea would further open its market for export items such as agricultural and aquatic products and seasonal fruits from ASEAN countries, support ASEAN businesses to engage more deeply in the global supply chains of Korean businesses, and create conditions for ASEAN businesses to expand investment opportunities in the RoK.

In order to enhance cooperation for a future of sustainable development, the Prime Minister proposed that both sides further promote cooperation in the fields of digital transformation, biotechnology, high-tech electronics, semiconductors, clean energy, smart cities, high-tech agriculture. He also proposed building specialized, environmentally friendly industrial production complexes, implementing climate action projects, enhancing cultural exchanges, and bolstering Mekong sub-region cooperation through the Mekong-Korea Partnership framework.

The leaders of ASEAN countries and the RoK welcomed the positive progress in bilateral cooperation in all fields. Currently, the RoK is ASEAN’s fifth largest trade and investment partner, with two-way trade turnover reaching US$222.8 billion and total Korean investment in ASEAN hitting US$12.7 billion last year.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in responding to emerging non-traditional security challenges such as transnational crimes, cyber security, maritime security; promote trade; support businesses and start-ups; ramp up cultural exchange, education, and tourism cooperation; and expand cooperation in potential fields such as science-technology, innovation, digital transformation, infrastructure, clean energy, smart city, sustainable urbanization and future industries.

At the end of the summit, the leaders of the two sides approved the ASEAN-Korea joint statement on cooperation based on AOIP.

During the 26th ASEAN – Japan Summit, the leaders of ASEAN countries and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida approved a joint declaration on the establishment of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to mark 50 years of their relations this year. They vowed to coordinate closely to successfully organize a commemorative summit in Tokyo this December.

ASEAN-Japan cooperation has yielded positive results in recent times. Japan is ASEAN’s fourth largest trading partner and second largest investment partner, with two-way trade reaching US$268.5 billion last year, up 11.2% year on year. Total Japanese investment in ASEAN hit US$26.7 billion last year, up 27.7% year on year.

ASEAN highly appreciates Japan’s commitment to contribute an additional US$50 million to the ASEAN-Japan Integration Fund (JAIF), to assist ASEAN in establishing and operating the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED).

The two sides vowed to effectively implement the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (AJCEP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement (RCEP); and promote cooperation in terrorism and transnational crime precention, maritime security, natural disaster management, and people-to-people exchanges people, youth, innovation, digital transformation, electric vehicle ecosystem development, energy, climate change response, clean energy transformation, and green growth.

Speaking at the summit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that as an active member of ASEAN and an extensive strategic partner of Japan, Vietnam makes every effort to contribute to deepening ASEAN – Japan relations.

To that end, he proposed that the two sides beef up trade-investment cooperation, maintain the supply chain, create conditions for products of ASEAN countries to make inroads into the Japanese market, and assist regional businesses in engaging more deeply in the supply chain of Japanese businesses, as well as the global supply chain.

The Prime Minister expected that Japanese strategic investors would join hands with ASEAN to further promote emerging and potential areas of cooperation such as green economy, digital economy, circular economy, among others.

At the end of the summit, the leaders of ASEAN and Japan issued a joint statement on cooperation based on the AOIP.