Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc returned to Hanoi on November 5, successfully concluding his trip tothe 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Thailand.

From November 2-4, the PM attended and addressed 11 conferences and meetings,and met with 19 partners, including the UN General Secretary, the PrimeMinisters of Laos, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Japan, India and New Zealand, theUS national security advisor, the Managing Director of the InternationalMonetary Fund and the UK Prince.

At the ASEAN Chairmanship hand-over ceremony on November 4 night, PM Phucreceived the chairmanship hammer from his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha and announced the topic aswell as major orientations proposed by Vietnam for the ASEAN Chairmanship in2020.

In his remarks at the 35th ASEAN Summit, the leader stressed thatpeace and stability must be the common goal, dialogue and cooperation the maintool, and people the centre of all policies.

The prerequisite to ensure peace and stability is maintaining an order underwhich behaviours of each country and relations comply with international law,he said.

The PM also emphasised the need to increase cohesiveness between member countriesto maintain the long-term sustainability of the 10-member grouping, pay moreattention to the implementation of economic agreements, remove obstacles totrade and investment, and encourage and support ASEAN businesspeople andinvestors to exploit the regional market.

Besides, ASEAN economies and businesses should be equipped with the capacity tooptimise opportunities and deal with challenges generated by the FourthIndustrial Revolution, he said.

At the plenary session and related meetings, PM Phuc affirmed Vietnam’sviewpoints on the East Sea issue.

Vietnam resolutely and persistently protects international law in internationalrelations and the East Sea issue in particular, he said, suggesting ASEAN workharder to promote the respect for international law, ensure security, safetyand freedom of navigation and aviation, fully implement the Declaration on theConduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and constructively build a Code ofConduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law and the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS).

The leader called for joint efforts in the new cooperation spirit of respectinglaw and building an East Sea of peace, cooperation and prosperous development.

He raised proposals and contributed opinions on many documents and agreementsadopted at the summit, including the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders’ Statement on Connecting the Connectivities Initiative, theASEAN-China Leaders’ Statement on Smart City Cooperation Initiative, the JointStatement on Strengthening Media Exchanges and Cooperation Between ASEAN andChina, the ASEAN-China Joint Statement on Synergising the Master Plan on ASEANConnectivity and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), among others.

Addressing the ASEAN Chairmanship hand-over ceremony, PM Phuc said Vietnam haschosen “Cohesive and Responsive” as the theme for the ASEAN Year 2020,explaining that the intra-bloc cohesiveness would increase the grouping’sadaptability to external impact.

He called for support of other ASEAN member countries and partners tomaterialise the theme.

On this occasion, PM Phuc had bilateral meetings with delegation heads andleaders of other ASEAN countries to discuss measures and orientations tostrengthen bilateral ties and settle specific issues.

On the sidelines of the summit, he attended some business cooperation eventsbetween Vietnamese and Thai partners.

The PM’s trip has contributed to tightening and boosting solidarity withinASEAN, promoting the grouping’s central role, expanding and deepening itsrelations with partners, creating a favourable condition for sustainabledevelopment in each country and the region, and advancing the image of Vietnamthat has played an active role in regional cooperation./.