(VOVWORLD) - Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung told reporters on Monday that the 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits will be held online between November 12 and 15. He said these meetings will be ASEAN’s most important event this year.
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Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung (C). (Photo: VNA)
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“ASEAN will review cooperation among member states and with its partners and work out priorities for the next stage. This is the only meeting between the leaders of ASEAN and most of its top partners during the year,” said Mr. Dung.
The meetings will include the 37th ASEAN Summit and the ASEAN+1 Summit with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US, and India. The first Summit of female ASEAN leaders will also be held.
Leaders will approve, take notes, and announce more than 80 documents, a record number, including the Hanoi Statement on ASEAN Vision after 2025 and the East Asia Statement on sustainable marine cooperation.
Deputy Foreign Minister Dung said Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations have been completed and member countries are gearing up to sign the agreement on November 15.
"RCEP, which took a lot of time to negotiate, is important for the region, particularly amid COVID-19. The signing of the agreement will help catapult regional trade and is significant for Vietnam as ASEAN Chair 2020,” he said.
Mr. Dung said ASEAN-US relations have been solid over the past 40 years and any US President will support cooperation between the 2 sides.