Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has officially assumed the rotating chairmanship of the ASEAN Committee in Copenhagen (ACC) for a one-year term starting May 2026.
Ambassador Nguyen Le Thanh received the role from the Thai Ambassador at a handover ceremony held at the Thai Embassy, attended by more than 50 delegates, including representatives from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, research institutions, businesses, associations, and foreign diplomatic missions.
Vietnam’s chairmanship comes at a significant time, as Denmark was officially admitted as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN in January 2026, while the bloc also welcomed its newest member, Timor-Leste, in October 2025.
ASEAN ambassadors and participants at the ceremony spoke highly of Vietnam’s action plan, which focuses on promoting the images of ASEAN and its member states among Danish partners and the public, while strengthening connectivity and expanding cooperation in areas of shared interest.
On the occasion, ASEAN embassies in Denmark, including those of Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam, jointly organised a seminar themed “ASEAN–Denmark: Partnership for the Future”.
Ambassador Nguyen Le Thanh receives the role of the ASEAN Committee in Copenhagen (ACC) chair from the Thai Ambassador at a handover ceremony held at the Thai Embassy (Photo published by VNA)
Participants highlighted ASEAN’s development journey from the Bangkok Declaration to a dynamic, united regional community with a growing global role, as well as the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. They also underscored the significance of ASEAN 2026’s theme, “Shaping Our Shared Future,” under the chairmanship of the Philippines, centred on strengthening peace and security, expanding prosperity corridors, and empowering people.
Addressing the seminar, Thanh stressed that ASEAN continues to assert itself as a vital cooperation mechanism, contributing to peace, stability and trust-building while expanding opportunities for shared development and prosperity.
Looking ahead, he noted that ASEAN faces four major challenges: rising strategic competition, increasing external shocks, complex economic, technological and green transition, and the need to enhance institutional effectiveness and implementation capacity. However, he affirmed that ASEAN’s strength lies in its ability to turn challenges into drivers of reform and growth.
The bloc’s future, he added, will depend on maintaining unity and centrality in a more competitive strategic environment, strengthening resilience and strategic autonomy, promoting an open, inclusive and rules-based regional order, and ensuring sustainable, people-centred development.
The ambassador also highlighted that ASEAN–Denmark relations, under the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership framework, offer strong potential for cooperation in areas such as green transition, digital solutions, innovation and sustainable development, while calling for concrete and effective collaboration going forward./.
