VN ready for 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits

The ASEAN Joint Consultative Meeting takes place in form of online conference on October 8, 2020.

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung made the above statement at the ASEAN Joint Consultative Meeting (JCM) held virtually on Thursday.

The country is ready with all options for the summits to be held in accordance with real circumstances, affirmed Dung, who is also Head of Viet Nam ASEAN SOM.

On the sidelines of these summits, a series of events will also be organized, including ASEAN Business and Investment Summit which is expected to attract senior leaders from 10 ASEAN member states as well as those from eight Dialogue Partners including Japan, China, the US, the Republic of Korea, India, and Australia.

Viet Nam has taken on the role of ASEAN Chair this year, the third time since the country joined the bloc 25 years ago.

Yet, from the beginning of 2020, even before Viet Nam could begin to roll out the details of this year’s ASEAN agenda, the country, like the rest of the world, was faced with unforeseen challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the theme “Cohesive and Responsive” initiated by Viet Nam, ASEAN activated virtual channels to ensure continuous communication among ASEAN member.

This solution also helped ASEAN and its partners to stay connected during this crisis, sustain seamless coordination, and make quick and timely responses.

The first results came out on February 14 when Viet Nam issued the Chair’s Statement on ASEAN’s Joint Response to the Outbreak of the COVID-19 which called for regional and international cooperation against the virus and reflected ASEAN solidarity and unity.

On April 14, the group leaders came together for an ASEAN Special Online Summit during which they agreed the top priority for ASEAN was to control and prevent the spread of the disease and minimize socio-economic impacts of the virus.

They also emphasized the need to reduce disruptions in supply chain and strengthen intra ASEAN trade to ensure resilience and quick recovery.

The online summit was followed by a series of virtual meetings with partners, especially the ASEAN 3 Summit on COVID-19 response where the participating countries committed to standing ready to exchange experience, policies and epidemiological and clinical research, support each other with medical supplies and step up cooperation in COVID-19 vaccine and drug development.

The countries also pledged to maintain open markets, make progress on the signing of the regional comprehensive economic partnership involving 10 ASEAN member countries and its six partners.

Viet Nam has also participated and proposed measures for cooperation in the fight against the pandemic at many other international virtual meetings, such as ASEAN-EU Ministerial Video Conference on COVID-19 on March 20, Ministerial Video Conference of the Alliance for Multilateralism on COVID-19 on April 16, G20 Health Ministers’ Virtual Meeting on April 19 and Special Online ASEAN-US Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on COVID-19 on April 23./.

By Kim Loan