Deputy Foreign Minister and Head of the SOM ASEAN of Viet Nam Nguyen Quoc Dung chaired the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Preparatory Meeting on November 9 in virtual format. 

Deputy Foreign Minister and Head of the SOM ASEAN of Viet Nam Nguyen Quoc Dung
(center) chairs the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Preparatory Meeting

The event reviewed the preparatory work for the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings scheduled on November 12-15.

The participants spoke highly of Viet Nam's thorough preparations for the bloc's major events this year and agreed on the tentative agenda and documents to be submitted to the upcoming meeetings.

They noted with pleasure that the initiatives set out for 2020 have been deployed as planned despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These initiatives include the mid-term review of the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the formulation of the Ha Noi Declaration on Post-2025 ASEAN Vision, the evaluation of the implementation of the ASEAN Charter among others.

Regarding ASEAN's external relations, the participants appreciated the contributions of partners in 2020 and during the ASEAN Community building process.

They held that the principles and criteria figured out by ASEAN in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) as well as the bloc's common positions in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) must be further promoted and applied widely. From that perspective, the participants agreed on the proposals of Cuba, Columbia, and South Africa to join the TAC.

Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung extended thanks to other member countries for their effective cooperation in preparing for the 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits, pledging Viet Nam, in its capacity as the ASEAN Chair, will do its utmost successfully organize these summits.

Several meetings also took place on the same day such as the fifth meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies, a preparatory meeting of the RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee, and a preparatory meeting of ASEAN senior economic officials./.