Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh today [April 23] outlined five "reinforcements" to realize the ASEAN Community Vision by 2045.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh makes remarks at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 held in Hanoi on April 23. Photo: Nhat Bac/VGP

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 in Hanoi, the Vietnamese leader underscored that ASEAN's first reinforcement is based on solidarity, cooperation, unity in diversity and upholding the spirit of independence, self-reliance and strategic self-determination.

He also emphasized reinforcing strategic trust within ASEAN and in relations with partners, contributing to conflict prevention, peace, security, stability, and prosperity in the region and the world.

He stressed the reinforcement of digital transformation and green development, the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, the renewal of traditional growth engines, and the creation of new and sustainable growth engines for ASEAN in the coming period.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister called for the reinforcement of harmonious, sustainable and inclusive development with a people-centred approach, making people the subject, motivation, resource and goal of development. "We should not trade social justice and progress and environmental sustainability for mere economic growth," he said.

The fifth reinforcement, he said, is to strengthen the mobilization of all social resources, especially public-private cooperation, to achieve strategic breakthroughs in institutions, human resources, infrastructure and national governance to help ASEAN develop rapidly and sustainably.

According to the Prime Minister, after nearly six decades of founding and development, ASEAN has never been in a better position or faced more challenges than it is today.

Stressing that ASEAN is the nucleus for promoting dialogue, cooperation and development, the focus of a number of initiatives and linkages in the region, as well as the focus of fierce strategic competition, the Vietnamese leader said ASEAN's central role is widely recognized, even if sometimes and in some places it does not really work.

Although ASEAN is the world's fifth-largest economic bloc, the level of development is still significant, and cooperation and connectivity within the bloc are not strong. These realities require ASEAN to have a strategic, comprehensive vision and adaptability to seize opportunities, address challenges and develop stably and sustainably, Chinh noted.

Saying "Tomorrow begins today", the Prime Minister reiterated that Vietnam would continue to join hands with ASEAN member countries, partners and friends to continue writing success stories and open up a new strategic future for a dynamic ASEAN Community of self-reliance, solidarity, unity in diversity, making positive contributions to peace, stability, cooperation and development in Southeast Asia and the world, putting people at the center, making them the subject, leaving no one behind.

The Vietnamese leader said that for nearly three decades of ASEAN membership, Vietnam has always considered ASEAN as one of the top priorities in its foreign, security, economic and defense policies, always trying its best to make the ASEAN Community united, and strong, with an increasingly high role and position in the region and the world.

High-ranking officials of ASEAN member states attend the forum. Photo: Nhat Bac/VGP

Addressing the Forum, Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of Laos, the chair of ASEAN in 2024, said that ASEAN countries need to be better connected to deal with the complexities of geopolitical, economic and financial issues.

He welcomed and highly appreciated Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's initiative to organize the Forum in 2024, the year Laos chairs ASEAN. Siphandone said the Forum is a very significant event that features the participation and contributions of government representatives, academics and researchers from Southeast Asia and the world, and at the same time, it demonstrates Vietnam's proactive and practical contributions to the ASEAN community in the new context and helps enhance Vietnam's role and position within the bloc and in the world.

Reviewing ASEAN's development process after nearly six decades of founding and development, as well as ASEAN's tendencies, opportunities and challenges in the coming period, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone said ASEAN must be ready to seize opportunities and overcome challenges for the ASEAN Community and its people.

In his remarks, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn expressed his appreciation to the Vietnamese Government for hosting the first ASEAN Future Forum.

He commended the Vietnamese Government for having thought through the organization of the Forum in advance. He said the forum will serve ASEAN well in pursuing the ASEAN Community Vision to 2045 and its four strategic plans.

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son speaks at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024. Photo: Tu Anh/The Hanoi Times

Addressing the event, Vietnam’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said that ASEAN nations have entered a new stage of development after completing the 2025 ASEAN Community Vision. The world will experience many changes in the next 10-15 years as geopolitical tensions will have negative impacts on regional and global peace.

He expected that participants at the forum will deliver solutions to balance the interests among member states, ensure the harmony between modern and traditional values, and foster a sustainable, people-centric growth model for the regional community.

The minister highly anticipated that the forum will result in ideas and initiatives for the implementation of the 2045 ASEAN Community Vision and raise the importance of ASEAN to the United Nations Future Summit held in September 2024.

With the initiatives, ASEAN will play a more essential role in global governance and prove the organization’s commitment to becoming a responsible, proactive member of the world, he said. 

Overview of the forum.