Hanoi (VNA) - Sub-regional development was among the key topics of discussion during the 🅷first workingday of the 53rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM-53) and related meetingson September 9.

The special session ofthe ASEAN Coordinating Council Meeting on Sub-Regional Development was chairedby Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. This is the first timethe ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) has held a separate session on the issue. Addressing theevent, President of the Asian Development Bank Masatsugu Asakawa spoke highlyof Vietnam’s initiative on the inclusion of the sub-regional development into the overalldevelopment of ASEAN, saying it contributes to the regional efforts forpost-COVID-19 recovery. For his part,President of Economic ResearchInstitute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) Hidetoshi Nishimura said ASEAN haspromoted its central role in connecting and developing sub-regions in theregion, such as the Mekong region, the BruneiDarussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA),and the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT). The Mekong regioncan be a role model for sub-regional development in ASEAN during the cooperationprocess for sustainable development and prosperity of the region, he said. Participants shared ideas on the challenges facing the ASEAN sub-regions, such as development gaps,hunger, food security – water source – energy, environmental pollution, andclimate change. They suggested ASEANnations focus on different aspects of each sub-region such as boosting regionallinkage, human resources development, public-private partnership (PPP),reshaping regional supply chain, and taking advantages of science andtechnology and digital economic development. Minh underlined the significance and role of sub-regional cooperationin the region. “Through unity,cooperation and the spirit that no one is left behind, ASEAN has been successful. Itis now the time for ASEAN to uphold its role, coordinate and support thesub-regional development in the region,” he said. Also on the firstworking day, participants discussed other ASEAN and international and regionalissues of mutual interest, including COVID-19 response and post-pandemicrecovery plan. AMM 53 is one of thehighlights of Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year. The eventconsists of 20 meetings via video conference, joined by 27 delegations from four continents of different time zones. They include the 21st ASEAN 3 ForeignMinisters’ Meeting, the 10th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, andthe 27th ASEAN Regional Forum./.