Collaboration in defence and security between ASEAN countries has been prioritised in order to fight against COVID-19 and to prepare for the 17th ARF Security Policy Conference (ASPC) taking place on July 8th.

Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) Vietnam Nguyen Quoc Dung on April 6 held phone talks with acting Australian Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the SOM Australia on ASEAN and East Asia Summit (EAS) Justin Hayhurst to discuss joint work via regional cooperation mechanisms amid the complicated developments of COVID-19.

Vietnam will promote the role and contribution of ASEAN to maintaining peace, security and stability in the region on the basis of strengthening the bloc’s unity during the year it chairs the ASEAN in 2020, according to a Vietnamese diplomat.

Social affairs will be an important issue of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as its socio-cultural community in 2020 when Vietnam serves as Chair of the ASEAN, a Vietnamese official has said.

According to Secretary General of the National ASEAN 2020 Committee, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung, Vietnam will chair, coordinate and organise about 300 conferences and various activities during the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020.