PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc will lead a Vietnamese high-ranking delegation to attend the 12th ASEM, which is themed “Europe and Asia: Global Partners for Global Challenges", in Belgium from October 18-19.

 

The Vietnamese PM is one of the two high-ranking leaders in ASEM invited to meet and hold dialogues with businesses in Asia and Europe within the 16th Asia-Europe Business Forum. He will deliver a speech at the First plenary session - Building the future together: promoting inclusive growth and sustainable connectivity.

 

PM Phuc will hold a number of meetings and exchanges with leaders of other countries and crucial partners of Viet Nam in ASEM.

 

The 12th ASEM aims to propose measures to promote the role of ASEM in enhancing multi-lateral cooperation, Asia-Europe connectivity, highlighting international law, addressing global challenges, maintaining peace, security, sustainability, cooperation and development in the world and the two continents. The ASEM leader will adop the 12th ASEM President's Statement.

 

Over the recent two decades joining the ASEM, Viet Nam successfully organized the fifth ASEM Summit in 2004 and five ministers? meetings in fields of economy in 2001, information-technology in 2006, diplomacy in 2009, education in 2009 and labor in 2012 as well as launched a number of initiatives in prioritized areas of ASEM.

 

The country also proposed 24 initiatives and co-sponsored 27 others in the ASEM framework in such areas as culture, health, transport, energy security, food security, climate change, science-technology, tourism, economics, green growth, social security, inclusive development and digital economy.

 

The country has taken the lead in initiating and maintaining the first cooperative mechanism in water resources management in the Mekong and Danube river basins in 2011.

 

Viet Nam also held key positions in ASEM such as the second Coordinator in the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 tenures and Deputy Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Foundation from 2008-2012.

 

The nation is actively upholding its role in five cooperation groups in fields of water management, climate change response and vocational training, as well as education and human resource development and technological connectivity.

 

Viet Nam is making contributions to ASEM’s concerns in 2018, especially in such areas as connectivity, climate change adaption, water management, food security, sustainable development, science-technology, education-training and human resource development.

 

ASEM is an intergovernmental process established in 1996 to foster dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe. Presently it comprises 53 partners: 30 European and 21 Asian countries, the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat. ASEM addresses political, economic, financial, social, cultural, and educational issues of common interest, in a spirit of mutual respect and equal partnership.

 

In a recent interview, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said that the ASEM 12 is considered an opportunities for leaders from the two continents to hold open and straightforward discussions on economic and finance issues along with arising problems in the regions and the world.

 

The leaders are expected to outline the direction and specific measures to create a new driving force for the Asia-Europe partnership, thus contributing to maintaining peace, security and stability in the region and the world, promoting sustainable and inclusive development, and more effectively responding to global challenges.

 

The summit is also expected to deliver a strong message about a responsible ASEM capable of adapting to the new situation, leading in promoting multilateral cooperation and building a more effective, fair and democratic global governance mechanism.