Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh chairs the informal meeting held in the online format due to COVID-19

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh expressed hope though the meeting was held online because of the COVID-19 crisis, it could not affect the overall efforts ASEAN member states have made to promote the priority agenda set for the meeting.

According to Minh, the region and the world in general have seen lots of changes since the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat held in Nha Trang city of Vietnam in January 2020. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic not showing signs of abating, ASEAN faces serious challenges but it also has many opportunities. Therefore, he said ASEAN countries still should continue to pursue the goal of building the ASEAN Community by 2025.

The Vietnamese diplomat proposed that ASEAN countries further strengthen cooperation, support each other and together solve common challenges, including COVID-19, in order to protect the people and minimize the impact of the epidemic on socio-economic development in the region.

“These efforts you have made in recent times have now helped ASEAN countries achieve many positive results,” said Minh.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh calls for greater efforts to overcome COVID-19 challenges and fulfil tasks of building the ASEAN Community by 2025

However, Minh warned that the regional and global situation is still very complicated due to the fierce competition of world powers and the rise of unipolarism, which causes many negative effects on peace and stability in the region.

In this context, he expected that, through this meeting, delegates will examine solutions to promote common priority issues, especially those of regional and global concern.