In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency ahead of the ASEAN Future Forum (AFF) 2026, Prof. Dr. Dmitry Valentinovich Mosyakov pointed to Vietnam’s active diplomacy, highlighting the Southeast Asian tour by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam.

Mosyakov said the trip carried significant strategic value, demonstrating the Vietnamese leader’s ability to foster trust and advance dialogue on issues related to regional security and stability.

Throughout the visits, he reaffirmed Vietnam’s consistent stance that disputes should be resolved through peaceful means, dialogue and negotiation, without the use or threat of force. According to the scholar, this consistent approach has enhanced Vietnam’s international standing and was reflected in the invitation extended to the Vietnamese leader to deliver a keynote address at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where his remarks attracted widespread attention.

As Hanoi hosts AFF 2026, Mosyakov said Vietnam continues to play a constructive role within ASEAN by helping maintain unity and consensus while seeking common ground on the bloc’s most challenging issues.

He noted that at a time of rising geopolitical uncertainty and growing pressures on regional cohesion, Vietnam has emerged as a key contributor to ASEAN solidarity and an advocate for greater stability, prosperity and sustainable development across the region.

Vietnam has consistently worked to promote compromise and build consensus on the region’s most sensitive issues, he said.

Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Irina Umnova, a senior researcher at the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences under the Russian Academy of Sciences and former President of the Russian Peace Road Foundation, described the ASEAN Future Forum as a timely initiative that reflects the need for broader dialogue and strategic thinking in a rapidly changing world.

She observed that major powers are increasingly recognising ASEAN’s central role in regional architecture while advancing their own long-term visions for the Asia-Pacific, one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions.

Against this backdrop, Umnova expressed hope that discussions at AFF 2026 would help shape a shared vision for ASEAN’s future and generate practical approaches to resolving regional disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law.

Held in Hanoi on June 9–10 under the theme “Shaping Our Shared Future: Peace, Prosperity and People at the Centre”, AFF 2026 brings together regional leaders, policymakers, scholars and business representatives to explore strategic issues shaping ASEAN’s future development./.