The ASEAN flag raising ceremony to mark the 55th founding anniversary of ASEAN, August 8, 2022. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – General Secretary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Kao Kim Hourn affirmed that since joining the bloc in 1995, Vietnam has been making significant, proactive and positive contributions.
Some 28 years ago, on July 28, 1995, Vietnam officially became the seventh member of the ASEAN community. The country is very proud to be a responsible and active member with significant contributions to the bloc.
Proactive and responsible member
ASEAN was established on August 8, 1967, with five initial members. They include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The association gradually developed into a comprehensive and close cooperation organisation, including 10 Southeast Asian countries and officially became the ASEAN Community on December 31, 2015.
Vietnam officially joined ASEAN on July 28, 1995, on the occasion of the 28th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM-28) in Brunei. However, the process of Vietnam joining ASEAN had begun previously.
Specifically, in July 1992, Vietnam joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and became an observer of ASEAN.
Since 1993, Vietnam held regular consultations with ASEAN on the occasion of the annual ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, participating in ASEAN cooperation programmes and projects in five areas: science-technology, environment, health, culture-information, and social development.
In 1994, Vietnam became one of the initial members of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the first regional forum on political-security issues led by ASEAN.
Flags raised at the admission ceremony of Vietnam as the seventh official member of ASEAN in Bandar Seri Begawan on July 28, 1995, Brunei. (Photo: VNA). Immediately after joining the bloc, Vietnam solved many bottlenecks to actively admit Laos, Myanmar (1997) and Cambodia (1999) to the ASEAN bloc. This has helped Vietnam become a bridge between mainland Southeast Asia and the islands of Southeast Asia. As a result, by 1999, all 10 Southeast Asian countries had realised the dream of one big family, gathering strength of the whole region, eliminating discrimination among ethnic groups, significantly enhancing the spirit of regional autonomy.
In particular, 2020 marked the 25th year as a member of ASEAN, also the third time that Vietnam assumed the role of ASEAN Chair. During the period, the region and the world experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, but Vietnam demonstrated its bravery in the leading role of the rotating President.
Vietnam has been proactive and responsible and persistent in ASEAN's principles. Many important initiatives in 2020 have become the common property of ASEAN such as the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund, the ASEAN Emergency Medical Supplies Stockpile, the ASEAN Master Recovery Framework, among others.
Unleash resources for the development of ASEAN Community
In 2023, a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the 42nd ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia from May 9 to 11. During the meetings, the Prime Minister delivered several important messages.
That was the spirit of ASEAN solidarity, the determination to make substantive and effective contributions to the building of the ASEAN Community and he also affirmed the consistent and unifying policy of the Party and State of Vietnam, considering ASEAN is an important and integral part of foreign policy.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the 42nd ASEAN Summit Plenary Session. (Photo: VNA) Economic, trade cooperation experiences remarkable growth
After 28 years as a member of ASEAN, the economic-trade relationships with Vietnam-ASEAN have grown tremendously.
In 1996, when Vietnam joined the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), Vietnam's two-way trade with other countries in the bloc only reached nearly six billion USD, but now, this has increased to more than 10 times, an average of about 60 billion USD.
In particular, during 2010-2021, trade between Vietnam and ASEAN enjoyed remarkable growth, in which exports increased from 9.3 billion USD in 2010 to 29.1 billion USD in 2021. The country also expanded imports from the bloc, from 14.5 billion USD in 2010 to 41.1 billion USD in 2021, a hike of 26.6 billion USD.
According to data from the Vietnam’s General Department of Customs, in 2022, Vietnam's export value to ASEAN reached 33.86 billion USD, up 17.7% compared to 2021 while imports hit 47.28 billion USD, a rise of 14.9% compared to 2021.
In the first two months of 2023, export turnover to ASEAN reached 4.96 billion USD, accounting for about 10% of the total export turnover of the country.
Loading and unloading rice for export. (Photo: VNA) Vietnam's exports to select ASEAN markets such as Thailand and Singapore have climbed. Specifically, in the first two months of 2023, although the total bilateral trade turnover decreased slightly by 6% (mainly due to the decrease in import turnover from Thailand to Vietnam), Vietnam's exports to Thailand reached 12 billion USD, up 12.4% over the same period in 2022.
In the reviewed perid, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Singapore as well as export and import turnover increased. Specifically, the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Singapore reached 1.49 billion USD, up 16.5% over the same period in 2022. Vietnam's export turnover to Singapore accounted for 677.7 million USD, an increase of 8.8% over the same period in 2022.
Since joining ASEAN, Vietnam has made many positive contributions to the common development of the whole bloc, thereby enhancing Vietnam's position and leading role in the organisation.
The outstanding contributions of Vietnam along with the country's achievements in the current period are the motivation for Vietnam to confidently deploy its foreign policy towards an increasingly important role for ASEAN in the coming period./.
