Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung (centre) and other Vietnamese officials at the virtual ASEAN Joint Consultative Meeting on June 17 (Photo: VNA) The event took place via videoconference under thechair of Brunei, which holds the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2021.
Participants in the meeting recognised the progress inthe ASEAN Community building over the last six months despite the complexCOVID-19 situation in the region.
They affirmed their countries’ support for Brunei topromote the initiatives and priorities for the ASEAN Year 2021.
In particular, they agreed on the roadmap for buildingthe ASEAN Community’s post-2025 vision and on the establishment of a high-leveldrafting group this year.
The meeting also concurred in building an ASEAN masterplan on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and accelerating the Strategic and Holistic Initiative to Link ASEAN Responses to Emergencies and Disasters (ASEAN SHIELD).
Officials agreed to step up the procurement ofCOVID-19 vaccines via UNICEF and the COVAX Facility to supply for the membercountries, asking ASEAN to promptly use 10.5 million USD from its COVID-19response fund to purchase vaccines.
Stressingthe importance of sustainable recovery, the countries highlighted the need forthe entire bloc’s engagement in implementing the ASEAN Comprehensive RecoveryFramework, and for supporting enterprises, vulnerable groups, and remote areasin the region.
At the meeting, they welcomed and approved Vietnam’sinitiative to organise an ASEAN forum on sub-regional cooperation in the thirdquarter of this year that will focus on narrowing the development gap amongsub-regions for comprehensive recovery and sustainable development.
Theyalso highly valued the outcomes of the regional conference on the implementationof the Initiative for ASEAN Integration for 2021 – 2025, held on May 19 underthe chair of Vietnam.
In his remarks, Deputy Minister Dung held that in thecurrent context, ASEAN should prioritise recovering and promoting connectivity,by effectively implementing the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and soonfinalising an ASEAN travel corridor arrangement framework to facilitate travelwithin the bloc.
Healso pointed out the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the region, including thewidened development gap among sub-regions in ASEAN.
The official called on member countries to assistremote areas, including the Mekong sub-region, to recover from the pandemic andkeep up with the common development pace in the grouping./.
VNA
