Vietnam, ASEAN Chair 2020, has said more than 80 documents, a record high, will be submitted for approval at the upcoming 37th ASEAN Summit.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the 36th ASEAN Summit in June 2020. Photo: Viet Hung

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will preside over the summit and some 20 related meetings scheduled for November 12-15 via video conference with the participation of leaders of ASEAN member states and the bloc’s partners.

Regarding the hosting of the summit which will be the last important event in the ASEAN Chair 2020, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked senior officials to highlight the bloc’s principle of consensus.

The meetings include the ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN+1 summit (with China, South Korea and Japan), the 23rd ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea leaders' meeting, the 15th East Asia Summit, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) summit and the first ASEAN women leaders' summit, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Other topics to be discussed are regional and international issues of common interest, the process of ASEAN Community building, ASEAN’s partnerships, the role of ASEAN in the post-pandemic recovery, among others.

Some preparatory meetings for the summit will be held on November 9-11 by senior officials and ministers specializing in the three pillars of the ASEAN Community.

As usual, Vietnam hosts two semiannual ASEAN summits, with the first one (the 36th Summit) held in June focusing on the bloc’s internal affairs and Covid-19 response. Meanwhile, the second event will review the ASEAN Community building and partnerships.

Vietnam is set to hand over the ASEAN gavel to Brunei at the upcoming summit.

The ASEAN Summit is a biannual meeting held by the 10-member bloc’s members in relation to economic, political, security, and socio-cultural development.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.