Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (L) shakes hands with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha before attending the opening of the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM-52) in Bangkok on July 31. (Photo: VNA)

In his speech on behalf of Vietnam – the next country to take over the ASEAN Chairmanship, Mr. Minh said the bloc is developing more and more strongly with its central role and stature in the international arena consolidated and the Community building process actively carried out. He affirmed that facing complex developments in the region and the world, ASEAN needs to stay steadfast, united and resilient while promoting the respect for law so as to effectively cope with changes in the regional and international situations. As the next country to hold the ASEAN Chairmanship, Vietnam will inherit the spirit and momentum of 2019 to enhance consensus and cohesion in ASEAN and further bring into play the bloc’s central role in effectively responding to global security and development challenges.

Following the opening ceremony, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers attended a plenary session and a retreat session to exchange views on emerging issues in building the ASEAN Community, the implementation plans of the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and the ASEAN Leaders’ Vision Statement on Partnership for Sustainability, and the negotiation on the Code of Conduct on the East Sea (COC).

A series of meetings of ASEAN and between ASEAN and its partners this week have been attended by foreign ministers of the 10 ASEAN countries, 27 partners and guest countries.