ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting held in Hanoi

(Bqp.vn) - The ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) was held online on July 16 and chaired by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung chairing the meeting. (photo: VNA)

At the meeting, delegates were committed to coordinating with Vietnam - Chair of ASEAN in 2020 - to implement priorities and initiatives during the year, including the mid-term review of the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the ASEAN Charter, and preparations to build the ASEAN Community Vision post-2025. They also welcomed the operation of the ASEAN Fund for COVID-19 response and discussed the next steps to complete holistic post-pandemic recovery.

Member countries spoke highly of the role of ASEAN+3 and agreed to promote cooperation to cope with COVID-19 and revive the economy, in particular improving regional financial and economic self-reliance.

They also discussed measures to strengthen the role and strategic value of the East Asia Summit (EAS) in the new development period, and increase capacity to deal with emerging challenges.