The 36th ASEAN Summit under the theme "Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN" pened Friday morning under the chair of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. 

During the summit, leaders of 10 ASEAN member countries are expected to focus on the development of the ASEAN Community in the immediate future and measures to address the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in the region, according to Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the SOM Viet Nam Nguyen Quoc Dung.

At the plenary session, the leaders will hear reports and give opinions on cooperation among ASEAN member nations in the three pillars of the ASEAN Community - political security, economics, and socio-cultural issues.

The leaders will propose measures to strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and its partners in the time to come.

They are also expected to compare notes on regional and international issues of common concern, with a focus on how to effectively deal with the COVID-19 pandemic while promptly recovering socio-economic development in the region at the same time.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc addresses the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN
Summit at the International Convention Center in Ha Noi on June 26, 2020. Photo: VGP

Deputy Foreign Minister Dung said ASEAN leaders will hold dialogues with representatives from the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) on coordination between the two organizations in building a people-oriented ASEAN Community.

Dialogues between ASEAN leaders and ASEAN Youth and representatives from the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-ABAC) will be arranged within the framework of the Summit.

In particular, the ASEAN Leaders' Special Session on Women's Empowerment in the Digital Age, initiated by Viet Nam, will also be organized as part of celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the approval of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for advancing women's rights.

The initiative reflects ASEAN leaders' commitment to promoting gender equality and enhancing the role of women in building the ASEAN Community, said Dung.

The regional leaders will adopt an ASEAN Chair Statement on the outcomes of the 36th ASEAN Summit, a Vision Statement on ASEAN's cohesion and proactive adaptation, and an ASEAN Declaration on human resources development for the changing work of work, added the Deputy Foreign Minister./.