German and Austrian media recently have run stories about the 36th ASEAN Summit, which was held on June 26 via video conference under the chair of Vietnam.

Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs the summit (Photo: VNA) 

Germany’s Junge Welt newspaper on June 27 said the focus of the summit is seeking measures to recover the economy in the post-pandemic period and increase cooperation with ASEAN partners.

According to the newspaper, at the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his desire that the event would create an opportunity for ASEAN member states to reaffirm their solidarity, political will and determination to overcome the current challenges and move forward.

He also held that ASEAN countries have actively shared information and experience and coordinated together to curb the disease, adding that ASEAN will expand and strengthen equal and win-win cooperation with its partners.

The PM underlined the bloc’s strong commitment to economic liberalisation and integration, striving to finalise the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as soon as possible, it added.

Earlier, Austria’s Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper cited the information provided by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs about three focuses under discussion at the summit: coping with COVID-19, addressing geopolitical tensions, and enhancing women empowerment.

Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups 10 member countries, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.