Viet made the statement at a press briefing of the Foreign Ministry on May 28 in Ha Noi.

On March 19, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc sent letters to ASEAN leaders to propose a new time schedule for the event as the COVID-19 pandemic was evolving complicatedly across the world. 

As the current ASEAN Chair, Viet Nam has proactively stepped up preparations for the upcoming event. 

The 36th ASEAN Summit had been planned to take place in the central city of Da Nang City from April 6-9 but was cancelled due to the pandemic. 

Viet Nam has been active in rallying collective responses to the pandemic within ASEAN region and between ASEAN and its partners in accordance with the “Cohesive and Responsive” theme of Viet Nam’s 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship.

One of the vivid examples is the organization of the Special ASEAN and ASEAN+3 Summits on COVID-19 on April 14 under the chair of PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc./.