Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, from May 9-11, where he will discuss various regional issues.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Source: VGP

According to the Foreign Ministry's statement, the Prime Minister will deliver important speeches, present Vietnam's perspectives on ASEAN's priorities, and suggest ways to enhance the ASEAN Community building process and strengthen relations between ASEAN and its partners.

Chinh will also hold several meetings with regional leaders to promote bilateral cooperation.

The meeting provides an opportunity for ASEAN leaders to discuss and establish directions for reinforcing the bloc, improving self-sufficiency and adaptability, and bolstering ASEAN's pivotal role amid current complexities and uncertainties.

The Summit's plenary session will revolve around discussions on building the ASEAN Community under the theme "ASEAN Matters: Epicenter of Growth".

There will also be several closed-door sessions to discuss issues of mutual concern at the regional and international levels.

ASEAN leaders will participate in dialogues with representatives of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary General Assembly, the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, and the High-Level Task Force on the Vision of the ASEAN Community Beyond 2025.

Ambassador Vu Ho, acting head of Vietnam's delegation to the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (SOM), told Vietnam News Agency that 2023 is a crucial year for Vietnam to implement the resolution of the 13th Party Congress, which requires prompt and comprehensive efforts at all levels, sectors, and fields.

"These efforts cannot overlook the contributions of Vietnam's multilateral foreign policy, which is crucial to the country's security, position, and development," Ho said.

As an organization of strategic importance, ASEAN is an integral part of Vietnam's foreign policy, Ho said.

He added that the Vietnamese delegation would attend the 42nd ASEAN Summit with an initiative, positive, responsible, and creative spirit, and in line with the foreign policy of the 13th ASEAN Summit.

"Our message at the conference will be to strengthen solidarity and self-sufficiency, enhance ASEAN's ability to respond and adapt flexibly to changes, and further promote its role and voice as well as its responsibility in participating in regional and global common efforts," Ho said.

The 42^nd ASEAN Summit is expected to adopt key documents on cooperation in all three areas of the political-security community, economy, and culture-society. These include the Statements on Towards the Vision of the ASEAN Community after 2025, the one addressing human trafficking caused by technology misuse, other on establishing an electric vehicle ecosystem within the region, the One Power Initiative, ASEAN health, the one on establishing the ASEAN Village Network, promoting regional payment connectivity, and enhancing transactions in local currencies.