Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at 10th ASEAN-EU Business Summit (Photo: VNA)  

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for more efforts to intensify international solidarity, uphold multilateralisation, and cooperate more closely and effectively among countries, while attending the 10th ASEAN-EU Business Summit in Brussels on December 13 afternoon (local time).

The leader, now in Belgium to attend the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit, suggested that enterprises should strengthen connectivity, and states should harmonise regulations based on the principle of harmonious benefits and shared risks between the state, businesses and people.

Regarding climate change, he emphasised that this matter requires a global approach, and all related policies must target people and businesses, and they themselves must actively participate in the implementation of these policies.

As the trade relationship between the EU and ASEAN is developing comprehensively in terms of scale, scope and nature, member countries must further improve the legal corridor and create the best foundation and conditions for businesses to continue increasing their capacity, creativeness and responsibility, and promoting the achieved results.

According to the PM, enterprises should focus on such fields as digital, green and circular economy; climate change response; food and energy security; and cybersecurity, with priority given to the development of wind and solar power.

Firms must participate in ensuring social security, pay attention to vulnerable groups to leave no one behind, and promote business culture and ethics.

He affirmed that Vietnam is consistently implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of foreign relations, for peace, friendship, cooperation and development. As a country experiencing many years of wars, the peace-loving Vietnam has maintain a consistent viewpoint of settling disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law. The country is also striving to build an independent and self-reliant economy which actively and effectively integrates into the international community.

Themed “Deepening ASEAN-EU Trade: Sustainable Development for All”, the business summit highlighted the great potential of the ASEAN market, as well as big opportunities to promote trade and investment cooperation between the two blocs.

The EU is currently ASEAN's third largest trading partner with two-way trade reaching nearly 269 billion USD in 2021, up 18.6% year-on-year. It ranked second in terms of total direct investment in ASEAN in 2021, with about 26.5 billion USD, up 42.9% year-on-year.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, stressed the need for a new approach to the development issue, especially in the exploitation of digital resources, adding that great attention should be paid to climate change response, environmental protection during the economic development process.

Earlier, PM Pham Minh Chinh and other leaders joined a working lunch hosted by the EU-ASEAN Business Council, during which he affirmed that there remains an ample room to expand trade cooperation between the two blocs./.