Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (fifth, right) and other leaders at the 22nd ASEAN Plus Three Summit in Bangkok on November 4 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the 22nd ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 4 as part of the ongoing 35th ASEAN Summit and related summits.
Addressing the event, PM Phuc highlighted the significance of the ASEAN Plus Three mechanism, describing it as the most dynamic cooperation framework between the ASEAN and its partners and an important motivation for the global and regional economic growth.
He held that amidst the complicated regional and global situation, the ASEAN Plus Three countries are facing many challenges, requiring them to maintain and foster multilateral cooperation, trade facilitation and connection, while enhancing their resilience against impacts from the outside.
The Vietnamese PM proposed strengthening economic-financial partnership as well as enhancing the efficiency and readiness of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) agreement to crisis and crisis prevention.
It is necessary to improve the capacity for the Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) in giving necessary policy recommendations, he said, underlining the need to consider the promotion of measures such as developing green bonds and sustainable bonds, and increasing the use of government bonds.
The Vietnamese leader asserted that connectivity is crucial in sustainable development, therefore, it is necessary to focus resources on the improvement of infrastructure connectivity, digital connection and digital economic development, e-commerce, and smart city building.
PM Phuc also underscored the significance of people connections, in which Vietnam is working hard to increase mutual understanding among people from all walks of life in the region.
At the event, the leaders affirmed the importance of the ASEAN Plus Three to peace, stability and prosperity in the region based on the principles of mutual trust, respect and sharing of common benefits.
The ASEAN Plus Three countries, with 2.2 billion people and one-fourth of the world GDP, are cooperating in 22 areas and within 65 mechanisms.
The leaders expressed their pleasure at ASEAN Plus Three collaboration outcomes, especially in implementing the action plan for the 2018-2022 period.
Trade revenue between the ASEAN and the three partners reached 869.1 billion USD in 2018, accounting for 31 percent of the bloc’s total trade in the year, and representing a year-on-year rise of 6.8 percent, they noted.
They agreed on the need to continue strengthening cooperation to make more contributions to the global economic growth.
They concurred to support the open, transparent, inclusive and law-based multilateral system as well as efforts to conclude negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), while strengthening affiliation in various areas including agro-forestry-fisheries, health care, social security, climate change, natural disaster and communicable disease management, economy, connectivity and macro-economy.
At the end of the meeting, the leaders adopted a ASEAN Plus Three Leaders’ Statement on Connecting the Connectivities Initiative, and agreed to build a website of the ASEAN Plus Three./.
