Vietnam marks step towards assumption of ASEAN chairmanship
Within ASEAN, Vietnam has helped advance several priorities, including closing development gaps among Southeast Asian states, developing new institutions, and engaging other powers.
Under an article published in The Diplomat on November 8, Vietnam officially took over ASEAN’s annually rotating chairmanship from Thailand, marking yet another step towards its assumption of the role in 2020.
Given Vietnam’s increasingly active role in ASEAN, the full range of regional issues that will need to be addressed, and the challenging context that Hanoi will be operating in, there will no doubt be much to watch in the year ahead.
Due to a range of steps including reforms at home (Doi Moi) and increasing integration with the outside world, Vietnam has rapidly emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies and dependable partners in Southeast Asia, since joining ASEAN in 1995.
Within ASEAN, including as chair twice in 1998 and 2010, Vietnam has helped advance several priorities, including closing development gaps among Southeast Asian states, developing new institutions, and engaging other powers.
In 2020, the regional and international environment is also facing growing stresses: China’s assertiveness and its inroads in the South China Sea; uncertainties about the U.S. foreign policy.
However, Vietnam has made significant inroads in strengthening its relationships with major powers, including the United States, Japan, Australia, and the European Union. Vietnam is no doubt aware of this challenging context, along with the fact that it has other domestic and foreign policy priorities to deal with as well, whether it be a its simultaneous holding of a non-permanent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seat.
Observers can expect the agenda for Vietnam’s chairmanship to be a mix of continuity and change in 2020: carrying forward the work of previous chairs while also being cognizant of timelines in various aspects of ASEAN’s development and advancing some priorities of interest to Vietnam itself./,
Vietnam is deeply concerned about the escalating and complex conflict in the Middle East, which poses a serious threat to the lives and safety of civilians, as well as to regional and global peace and stability.
The Vietnamese Embassy advises the Vietnamese community living, studying, and working in Israel to strictly comply with directions from the Home Front Command and local authorities.
Lawmakers are set to vote on revisions and amendments to a broad spectrum of legal frameworks and impactful resolutions during the final week of the 15th NA's 9th session.
The State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (SCOVA) has served as a bridge connecting and uniting the community with the homeland, becoming a trusted source of support for Vietnamese expats in times of hardship.
The programme to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses has achieved notable results, with nearly 263,000 housing units addressed to date, including 225,000 houses inaugurated and 38,000 under construction. Thirty-eight provinces and cities across the nation have already fulfilled their targets.
Stronger efforts and determination are required to achieve and surpass the set targets, especially in the eradication of makeshift and dilapidated houses nationwide, the acceleration of public investment disbursement, and the implementation of nationally important transport projects, PM Pham Minh Chinh noted.
The trip will be made at the invitations of Chinese Premier Li Qiang and WEF President and CEO Børge Brende, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Long spoke highly of the dynamic, positive, and comprehensive development of Vietnam – Russia relations in recent years. He affirmed that the Vietnamese Party and State place great importance on further strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia in a substantive and effective manner, in line with the development needs of both nations.
At the conference, participants reported that the Government has so far issued 28 decrees on the delegation of responsibilities and powers between the central Government and two-tier local administrations. Several localities have already piloted the new governance model.
Reality is the ultimate benchmark for success, he said, urging drafting agencies to work out policies that foster development, reduce bureaucratic hurdles, and respect practical conditions.
Under the official dispatch signed on June 20, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and chairpersons of provincial and municipal People’s Committees are requested to concentrate efforts on implementing core measures to ensure the smooth operations of the new administrative framework.
The Party chief underscored the need for the press to innovate relentlessly, evolve to keep pace with the country's development, transform into a truly professional, humanistic, and modern sector that serves the cause of the Party, the State, and the people on the path to national construction and development.
The UN Secretary-General praised Vietnam’s remarkable achievements in socio-economic development and international integration in recent years, noting that the country has emerged as a model in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoting international peace and security, and engaging in key UN processes.
Nghia affirmed that this is a milestone of special significance, affirming and honouring the the Vietnamese revolutionary press’s glorious tradition of 100 years of serving the revolutionary cause of the Party, serving the Fatherland, and serving the people.
The Party and State of Vietnam always attach great importance to and give top priority to the development of Vietnam–China relations. Vietnam is ready to work with the Chinese Party and State to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and promote the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
Under the leadership of President Ho Chi Minh and the CPV, President Cuong said, the press has been a steadfast force on the ideological and cultural front, rallying the masses to pursue national aspirations.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man stressed the need to accelerate the application of artificial intelligence and smart teaching equipment, innovate teaching and assessment methods, and further improve the quality of formal education.
He also pledged that the NA will promote its ongoing supervision, making sure that every promise must lead to results, and every commitment must bring about real changes.
