In his remarks, the PM stressed the significance ofthe ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit, and stated that cooperation achievements have createda foundation and an impulse for the relationship.
He suggested the two sides consistently pursue the settargets, renew their mindset and take actions to promote their strategic partnershipin a balanced, fair fashion, with harmonious interests and shared risks.
Chinh emphasised that global issues need globalapproaches, and reiterated Vietnam’s strong commitments to climate change, andgreen, sustainable development.
He also called for the EU’s maximum support infinance and technology within the framework of the Just Energy TransitionPartnership, its sharing of information and experience in green, clean technology,its cooperation in innovation, digital transformation, green economy and digitaleconomy, and its collaboration with ASEAN in sub-regional and Mekong development.
The PM proposed ASEAN and the EU take peace as thepurpose; dialogue and cooperation the tools; and respect to law, theUN Charter and common values.
Affirming ASEAN’s stance on the East Sea issue, heurged the two sides to work together to build the sea into waters ofpeace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development.
Chinh also noted his concern over the conflict inUkraine, stressing the need to respect legal and legitimate rights andinterests, and concern of parties, with top priorities given to ending theconflict, and protecting essential infrastructure, and life and property of civilians.
He also affirmed ASEAN’s common view on peacefullyaddressing conflicts and disagreements on the basis of respect forinternational law, the UN Charter, and independence, sovereignty andterritorial integrity of countries.
Over the past 45 years, the ASEAN-EU has been developingfruitfully. Last year, the 10-member grouping was the third largest tradepartner of the EU outside Europe. Meanwhile, the EU was ASEAN’s third biggesttrade partner with two-way trade reaching 268.9 billion USD. The EU was alsothe second biggest foreign investor of ASEAN with a total capital of 26.5billion USD.
At the summit, the two sides agreed to deepen thestrategic partnership, established in 2020, on the basis of international law,and equal and mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote recovery and green,sustainable development.
The leaders pledged to pay more attention toenhancing economic and trade ties, and stabilising the supply chain, whilekeeping the target of establishing a free trade agreement between ASEAN and theEU.
The two sides will also step up connectivity throughthe implementation of the 2020 EU-ASEAN Joint Ministerial Statement onConnectivity and the EU-ASEAN Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement, and workto narrow their development gaps.
They will cooperate in climate change response,digital transformation, energy transition, natural disaster management,environmental protection, bio-diversity, and the fight against illegal fishing.
The EU announced an investment package worth 10billion EUR (10.6 billion USD) under its Global Gateway strategy in ASEAN, thelaunch of the Sustainable Connectivity Team Europe Initiative, and the implementationof a programme on environmental protection worth 30 million EUR.
They stressed the importance of maintaining peace,stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the EastSea, supporting dialogue and trust building, exercising self-restraint, nottaking actions that would escalate tensions, and settling disputes by peacefulmeasures, in line with international law, including the 1982 United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
They called for the fullimplementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea(DOC), and the building of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in theEast Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including the UNCLOS.
Regarding other regional and global issues, theleaders shared the view that differences and disagreements should be resolvedpeacefully.
The summit adopted a joint statement reviewing theachievements recorded over the past 45 years, and putting forth futureorientations.
Later the same day, PM Chinh and other leadersattended a banquet on the occasion of the summit./.