Leaders also discussed the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar, and condemned the attack on a convoy of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and ASEAN Monitoring Team in Myanmar.

The attendance of the Vietnamese delegation at the event, led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, demonstrated Vietnam's active, positive and responsible contributions to the ASEAN, the building of the ASEAN Community and intra-bloc solidarity, as well as the settlement of challenges and maintenance of ASEAN standpoints on international and regional issues.

Speaking to Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in Jakarta, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn affirmed that since joining the association in 1995, Vietnam has made important, productive and positive contributions to the regional group.

He highlighted Vietnam’s fast transformation and outstanding development achievements in recent years. With about 100 million people, ranking third among ASEAN member countries in population scale, Vietnam has strong economic potential with high investment attraction and fast social development, he said, adding that the “S”-shape country is one of the ASEAN members that draws great attention in investment, tourism and trade.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council 2023 (ASEAN-BAC) Arsjad Rasjid praised Vietnam’s positive contributions to materialising economic priorities of ASEAN in 2023.

He said that Vietnam has been an important player in promoting trade and investment within the region and beyond, as the country has actively participated in initiatives such as the ASEAN Free Trade Area and recently expressed interest in joining the cross-border payment connectivity network, which is a positive development for the region's economic integration. According to him, Vietnam's upcoming hosting of the ASEAN Wind Energy 2023 event is a significant contribution to the region's renewable energy goals.

At the same time, Timor-Leste Ambassador to Indonesia Filomeno Aleixo da Cruz said that Vietnam has been a very strong supporter of Timor-Leste’s ASEAN membership bid since the very beginning of their application. He affirmed that Timor Leste is looking forward to working closely with Vietnam in the future especially in relation to the membership to ASEAN, through capacity building programmes and development cooperation./.

 Source: en.vietnamplus.vn/42nd-asean-summit-wraps-up-highlighting-three-key-pillars/252897.vnp