On Oct. 18, the 20th Economic Community Council Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held online from the headquarter of Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The meeting was chaired by the Minister at The Prime Minister's Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II of Brunei Darussalam Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah and attended by ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and ministers of economy of the ASEAN country members. It was held in preparation for the upcoming 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and the related events, which were slated for Oct. 26-28.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh. Photo: The Ministry of Industry and Trade

The delegation of Vietnam who attended the meeting included representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, and Ministry of Information and Communications.

Responsible for formulating and implementing the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed 5 specific goals at the meeting, namely, (i) turning ASEAN into a highly integrative and unified economy; (ii) developing a competitive, innovative and dynamic ASEAN; (iii) enhancing specialized connection and cooperation; (iv) developing a human-centered, resilient ASEAN with comprehensive development; and (v) developing a global ASEAN.

Representatives of Vietnam’s ministries attending the 20th ASEAN Economic Community Council Meeting at the headquarter of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Photo: The Ministry of Industry and Trade

The council discussed the mid-term review of the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025, specifically the recommendations, to ensure that the goals set in the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 can be met.

The council also discussed the building of the ASEAN vision in the period after 2025, the trends in the region and across the world. The delegates came to an agreement on the need to strengthen inter-sectoral and inter-pillar coordination and cooperation with all components of the ASEAN Economic Community to build the post-2025 ASEAN Vision, ensuring inclusiveness and practical benefits to ASEAN members towards the goal of developing a strong ASEAN community and cementing ASEAN’s central role in the Asia-Pacific region and other regional linkages.

The chair of the meeting, Minister at The Prime Minister's Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II of Brunei Darussalam Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and ministers of economy of the ASEAN country members joining the meeting online. Photo: The Ministry of Industry and Trade

The 20th ASEAN Economic Community Council Meeting also reviewed the implementation of the economic collaboration initiatives by Brunei, ASEAN Chairmanship in 2021, discussed the preparation for the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and the related events, and listened to the presentation by Cambodia, ASEAN’s Chairmanship in 2022, on the initial direction to develop economic collaboration initiatives for ASEAN in 2022.

At the meeting, Vietnam has actively contributed comments on the direction to complete the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 and build the ASEAN vision in the period 2025.

Based on the results of the discussion, the ASEAN Economic Community council has approved certain documents to be submitted to the leaders attending the 38th – 39th ASEAN Summits, such as the Bandar Seri Begawan roadmap on ASEAN digital transformation to boost the regional bloc’s economic recovery and digital economic integration, the ASEAN Economic Community circular economy development framework, and the ASEAN cooperation framework to consolidate policies on micro, small and medium enterprises.

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