Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and ASEAN leaders at the ASEAN Summit

In preparation for the summits, Vietnam proactively advanced several cooperation priorities aligned with the 2024 ASEAN theme and the shared interests of member countries. Close coordination with Laos, the 2024 ASEAN Chair, and other member states enabled Vietnam to actively contribute to the compilation of summit documents, fostering consensus on key regional and global issues.

Addressing the summits, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh enriched the concepts of ASEAN's "connectivity" and "resilience" in the current context. He introduced innovative ideas and approaches for regional development, grounded in practical needs.

He said that, in an increasingly volatile world, ASEAN continues to be a bright spot in the global economy, a bridge of dialogue and cooperation, and a focal point of integration and connectivity in the region. Frameworks on digital economy, blue economy and circular economy are gradually shaping new connotations of cooperation in the region.

Believing that ASEAN is preparing for a new development phase with new thinking, new vision, new motivation and new attitude, and with the desire to contribute more to regional cooperation, Prime Minister Chinh suggested that ASEAN needs, more than ever, to take resilience as the foundation to reach new highs, take connectivity as the focus to make breakthroughs, and take innovation as the driving force to pioneer and lead. Resilience and strategic self-reliance are the foundation for ASEAN to remain steadfast amid fluctuations. This involves enhancing internal connectivity alongside external, public-private, and multi-sectoral connections. Innovation will serve as the driving force for ASEAN to advance collectively and lead in both the region and the global arena.

Regarding fostering a resilient ASEAN at all levels, the Prime Minister affirmed that solidarity, unity in diversity, and strategic self-reliance are prerequisites for ASEAN to stand firm in the face of volatility. In implementing relations with partners, ASEAN needs to maintain its centrality, independence, strategic balance and principled behaviors. In international and regional issues, ASEAN needs to firmly adhere to its principled stance, based on international law, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and promote a common voice.

In that spirit, he shared and promoted ASEAN's principled stance on East Sea matters, emphasizing the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon completing a substantive, effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He also asked partners to support ASEAN's stance and efforts to build the East Sea into a sea of peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development.

Prime Minister Chinh also underlined the need for strategic connectivity in all aspects, specifically stating connecting a common vision with shared responsible, constructive and willing contributions to peace, stability and prosperity; connecting development cooperation and promoting new growth drivers such as digital economy, green economy, circular economy, sharing economy, stable and resilient supply chains; and connecting people, enhancing exchanges, engagement, understanding, and further strengthening the identity of the ASEAN Community as well as the foundation of friendly relations between ASEAN and its partners.

Requesting readiness for the new development stage of ASEAN in the face of rapid and complex global and regional movements, Prime Minister Chinh highlighted three tasks for ASEAN's steady and firm development into the future: ASEAN needs to have innovative thinking, breakthrough ideas and drastic actions to foster its pioneering and leading role; ASEAN needs to be a bridge to connect regional priorities with global priorities, thus creating complementarity and synergy in efforts to ensure peace, security and development; and ASEAN needs to encourage broader engagement and contributions of groups and circles, including parliaments, businesses and youth to the process of building the Community. Before the ASEAN leaders, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced that Vietnam will continue hosting the ASEAN Future Forum in 2025 with the desire to contribute more to regional cooperation and connectivity.

He also suggested that ASEAN and its partners need to "be resilient in the face of natural disasters and climate change", promote cooperation in disaster management and damage reduction, enhance community resilience, and assign higher priority to cooperation in energy transition, green transition, environmental protection, and climate change response, particularly recent extreme climate events such as Typhoon Yagi in Southeast Asia or Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States.

The activities and statements of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese delegation reaffirmed Vietnam's position on regional and international issues, upholding the principle of respecting ASEAN consensus. Vietnam's active, dynamic and effective engagement has worked with ASEAN member countries and partners to address global and regional issues. Together with member countries, Vietnam maintains and strengthens ASEAN's centrality and promotes ASEAN's responsible voice for peace, stability and development in the region and the world. Vietnam's contributions and initiatives in the key discussions and documents announced, approved, or acknowledged at the summits significantly enhanced the outcomes while effectively safeguarding the country's legitimate interests.