Building on Vietnam's strong bilateral ties with Northeast Asian partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung reaffirmed the country's commitment to further advancing ASEAN+3 cooperation, contributing to regional peace, stability and development while delivering tangible benefits to people across the region.
Trung made the remarks at the ASEAN+3 Foreign Ministers' Meeting on July 23 in Manila, the Philippines, held on the sidelines of the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM-59) and related meetings. The meeting brought together the foreign ministers of ASEAN member states, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK).
The Vietnamese minister underscored ASEAN+3's role as a strategic platform for deepening regional economic integration, strengthening resilience and helping build a peaceful and prosperous future for the region.
To ensure ASEAN+3 remains responsive to shifts in the regional and global strategic landscape, he called on the countries to continue prioritising deeper economic integration and stronger regional connectivity through the effective implementation of trade agreements. He also proposed expanding cooperation in energy and food security, including exploring the feasibility of a regional energy cooperation arrangement to bolster the region's resilience and preparedness against external shocks.
Trung further urged China, Japan and the RoK to strengthen cooperation with and support for ASEAN in technology, innovation and digital transformation, while effectively implementing leaders' agreements on electric vehicles, clean energy and low-carbon development.
At the meeting, the ministers noted that after nearly three decades of development, ASEAN+3 has firmly established itself as one of the region's most substantive and effective cooperation mechanisms. Through collaboration in trade, investment, finance, supply chain resilience, energy security and food security, the countries have successfully navigated a wide range of challenges, from financial crises, pandemics and natural disasters to mounting geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainties.
China, Japan and the RoK reaffirmed their support for ASEAN centrality and pledged continued assistance for implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and strengthening the bloc's resilience to external challenges.
Against the backdrop of increasing global and regional uncertainties, the ministers agreed that ASEAN+3 should further reinforce its role as a key driver of East Asian cooperation by prioritising economic integration and connectivity while enhancing regional resilience and collective capacity to respond to crises and external shocks.
Accordingly, the ministers stressed the need to accelerate implementation of the ASEAN+3 Work Plan 2023–2027, deepen economic and trade relations, strengthen linkages among regional free trade agreements and make better use of existing financial cooperation mechanisms. They also agreed to explore expanding the regional rice reserve to reinforce food security and examine the feasibility of establishing a regional petroleum reserve alongside enhanced cooperation on the green transition and renewable energy to strengthen energy security.
The countries also agreed to step up cooperation in digital transformation, technology and innovation by leveraging the technological strengths of Northeast Asian partners. Investment in education, human resource development, cultural exchanges and tourism will likewise remain a priority./.
