Businesses - The Heart of ASEAN Growth
This was affirmed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during his talks with ASEAN youth and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), held as part of the 46th ASEAN Summit and related summits in Malaysia in late May.
With the theme "Unifying Markets for Shared Prosperity," ASEAN-BAC representatives proposed key priorities: Boosting intra-bloc trade and investment, enhancing economic integration and connectivity, building an inclusive and sustainable future, and developing a digitally resilient ASEAN.
Emphasizing the necessity of deep economic integration, sustainable development, and comprehensive digital transformation, ASEAN-BAC introduced several concrete initiatives. These include establishing an ASEAN Business Entity to facilitate cross-border operations, accelerating the formation of an ASEAN Private Capital Market and a Common Carbon Market Framework, developing a strategy to promote the flow of young talent, and building digital platforms to simplify procedures and reduce transaction time and costs. These efforts are expected to potentially increase ASEAN's GDP by an additional 5.5 billion US dollars through trade digitalization.
The Prime Minister asserted that businesses are the heart of ASEAN growth. He affirmed the Vietnamese government's commitment to creating "transparent institutions, seamless infrastructure, and smart governance" to work with other member state governments and businesses. The goal is to transform ASEAN into a dynamic, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable economic entity, ready to adapt to any global changes.
The Prime Minister urged governments and the business community to refresh traditional growth drivers, promote new ones, and develop high-quality human resources that meet the demands of the newera labor market. This should be achieved by enhancing cooperation among the "three houses": the state, businesses, and schools.
In a separate talk with ASEAN youth, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared the message "Act Today - Shape Thực hiện : Việt Cường 1 2 3 26 | VIETNAM PICTORIAL | https://vietnam.vnanet.vn/english/ No 798 - June 2025 | 27 4 Tomorrow". He called on ASEAN youth to unleash their pioneering and creative spirit using the "five proactive ideas": Proactive in learning, proactive in innovation and entrepreneurship, proactive in institutional building, proactive in international exchange and integration, and proactive in participating in maintaining peace, stability, and ASEAN cultural identity.
Alongside this, he proposed that ASEAN countries focus on five key areas: Building an open education system, supporting the development of science, technology, and digital transformation, fostering entrepreneurship, creating dialogue spaces to listen to young voices, and encouraging youth participation in environmental protection and sustainable development.
During the discussion themed “Youth for a Sustainable Future: Empowering Inclusion and Driving Change in ASEAN”, ASEAN youth delegates expressed their aspirations and responsibilities in shaping the region's future. They called on member states to invest in an inclusive infrastructure, enhance public-private cooperation to implement sustainable development goal training programs, and establish mechanisms for young people to genuinely participate in sustainable development processes, from rural to urban areas. They also advocated for increased access to digital skills and artificial intelligence education, improved physical and mental health for young people, support for vulnerable groups, encouragement of entrepreneurship and innovation, and promotion of climate action and ASEAN cultural diversity.
Vietnam is committed to partnering with ASEAN and prioritizing the comprehensive development of youth as a strategic resource. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that ASEAN's bright future will be written by a generation of young people who dare to think, dare to act, and dare to lead the way towards a cohesive and sustainable ASEAN./.
Story: VNP Photos: VNA Translated by Hong Hanh