ASEAN senior officials set the stage for bloc’s summit

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet attended the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) in Kuala Lumpur on May 24, preparing for the 46th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.

At the event, ASEAN member states extended their deepest condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people over the passing of former State President Tran Duc Luong, honouring his contributions to the region during Vietnam’s early years of membership to the bloc.

The ASEAN Summit and Related Summits will bring together leaders from ASEAN member state, Timor-Leste, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, and China. With approximately ten sessions planned to strengthen intra-bloc cooperation, expanding partnerships, enhancing economic resilience, and identifying new drivers of collaboration amidst regional and global uncertainties.

A highlight of the summit will be the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on "ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future" and the adoption of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, alongside comprehensive strategies covering political-security, economic, socio-cultural, and connectivity dimensions. These documents are expected to provide overarching guidance and establish a solid foundation for regional integration over the next two decades.

ASEAN senior officials praised Malaysia's thorough preparations as the host nation and affirmed their commitments to continue close coordination to ensure the events’ success.

Viet engaged in discussions with other SOM officials on issues related to ASEAN Community building, support for Timor-Leste’s bid for full ASEAN membership, implementation of concrete cooperation initiatives with dialogue partners, and improvement of the ASEAN-led mechanisms’ effectiveness.

In the afternoon, empowered by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Viet participated in the Extended Informal Consultation on implementing Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar, and listened to a report on the work of the 2025 ASEAN Chair's Special Envoy on Myanmar.

Commending the envoy's efforts alongside the 2025 ASEAN Chair, he said Vietnam commits its close cooperation with other member states in implementing the consensus while proposing measures to improve implementation effectiveness in the coming time.

On May 25, Son will lead a Vietnamese delegation to attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the ASEAN Political-Security Community Council Meeting, the ASEAN Coordinating Council's session, and the ASEAN-GCC Foreign Ministers' Meeting./.