Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for stronger cooperation among the ASEAN nations to effectively deal with the COVID-19 pandemic while delivering his remarks at the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit on Friday morning. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc addresses the opening ceremony
of the 36th ASEAN Summit. Photo: VGP

The summit takes place in the context of the pandemic which has spread around the world.

The Vietnamese Government chief applauded the spirit of solidarity and coordination among the member countries, and prompt actions they are taking in the fight against the pandemic, affirming that Viet Nam will continue to closely work with other ASEAN countries in this fight.

The opening ceremony draws the participation of 300 local and foreign delegates.
Photo: VGP

PM Phuc extended thanks to the leaders of ASEAN member countries and the bloc's partners for their cooperation with and support for Viet Nam in joint efforts to respond to the pandemic, especially strong commitments at the Special ASEAN Summit and the Special ASEAN+3 Summit on COVID-19 in April.

The regional leaders will discuss measures to address the social and economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 crisis, post-pandemic recovery plans for the regional countries in the immediate time, and orientations to accomplish cooperation and integration goals.

The opening ceremony saw the participation of leaders of the 10 ASEAN member countries, Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan - Chair of the 41st General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41), Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh - Chairman of the National ASEAN 2020 Committee.

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