36th ASEAN Summit to concentrate on addressing COVID-19 crisis: Deputy FM

Deputy Foreign Minister and General Secretary of the National ASEAN 2020 Committee Nguyen Quoc Dung (L) speaks at the press conference (Photo: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Speaking at a press conference in Hanoi on June 23 regarding the summit, he emphasised Vietnam’s preparations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the region and the world.

To take place in Hanoi on June 26 in the form of a video conference, the summit will be the first official summit hosted by Vietnam as ASEAN 2020 Chair, he added.

At the plenary session that will be chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, participants will hear reports and give opinions on cooperation among ASEAN member nations in the three pillars of the ASEAN Community - political security, economics, and socio-cultural issues. They are also expected to propose measures for stronger cooperation between ASEAN and its partner countries in the time to come.

ASEAN leaders will also compare notes on regional and international issues of common concern, with a focus on how to effectively deal with the COVID-19 pandemic while promptly recovering socio-economic development in ASEAN member countries at the same time.

According to the Deputy FM, ASEAN leaders will hold dialogues with representatives from the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) on coordination between the two organisations in building a people-oriented ASEAN Community.

Dialogues between ASEAN leaders and ASEAN youth and representatives from the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-ABAC) will be arranged within the framework of the summit.

In particular, the ASEAN Leaders’ Special Session on Women’s Empowerment in the Digital Age - an initiative from Vietnam to affirm ASEAN leaders’ commitment to promoting gender equality and enhancing the role of women in building the ASEAN Community - will also be organised as part of celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the approval of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for advancing women’s rights, Dung said.

ASEAN leaders will adopt an ASEAN Chair Statement on the outcomes of the 36th ASEAN Summit, a Vision Statement on ASEAN’s cohesion and proactive adaptation, and an ASEAN Declaration on human resources development for the changing world of work, he added.