Sydney (VNA) – The Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plays a centralrole in the region’s recovery and the post-COVID-19 regional order, saidAustralian Prime Minister Scott Morrison
In his media statement released on November 13 to announce that he will participatein the virtual ASEAN-Australia Summit and the virtual East Asia Summit,Morrison affirmed that the group remains at the heart of Australia’s vision fora peaceful, stable, inclusive, sovereign, prosperous and resilient Indo-Pacific.
As scheduled, at the ASEAN-Australia Summit, Morrison will discuss Australia’srole in the region’s response to COVID-19 recovery with the role as a strategicpartner of ASEAN and the oldest dialogue partner of the group.
Meanwhile, at the East Asia Summit, he will highlight the importance of post-pandemicrecovery being guided by the principles set out in the ASEAN Outlook on theIndo-Pacific, including transparency, inclusivity, good governance and respectfor international law.
Morrison will also participate in the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) Summit on November 15
According to Morrison, RCEP bringstogether Australia’s top regional trading partners into a single economicframework and will link Australia more closely with this dynamic region.
In the statement, the Australian leader congratulatedVietnam for its stewardship as ASEAN Chair during a very challenging year andfor Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s hosting of theASEAN-Australia, East Asia and RCEP Summits.
On November 13 evening, Morrison attended and delivereda speech at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ASEAN BIS) 2020 , which was also heldonline./.
