According to the authorization of the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, leaders of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the 49th ASEAN Economic Integration Senior Task Force Conference (HLTF-EI 49) in Iloilo, Philippines from February 25-27, 2026. The conference was attended by representatives of 11 ASEAN member countries, the ASEAN Secretariat and research and consulting organizations of the region.
The 49th HLTF-EI Conference focused on discussing major groups of issues including: The issue of non-tariff barriers in the region; the issue of economic security in the face of global economic developments; the situation of building the Economic Priorities (PED) of the Philippines in 2026; considering amending and supplementing the functions and activities of the HLTF-EI; reforming the meeting schedule of the ASEAN Economic Community; the mechanism for monitoring and tracking the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community Strategic Plan after 2025; the agenda on sustainable development (circulation economy, carbon neutrality, blue sea economy) and the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between ASEAN and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the period 2026-2030.
At the conference, ASEAN countries noted that ASEAN's economic growth rate in 2025 is estimated at 4.5% (in 2024 it grew by 4.8%) and the inflation rate is estimated at 2.4%; total trade turnover of goods in the first 3 quarters of 2025 reached 3.2 trillion USD. ASEAN countries all affirmed ASEAN's central role in economic and trade cooperation in the region; noted the progress of implementing economic integration work in ASEAN and orientations to further deepen intra-bloc trade and investment.
The conference reaffirmed its commitment to an open, transparent and rule-based multilateral trade system. At the same time, it set out the requirement to closely monitor global trade policy developments, coordinate positions at the WTO, and ensure the interests of ASEAN countries.
The conference also noted the adjustment of the operating mechanism of HLTF-EI and the maintenance of the 1.5-channel dialogue on geo-economics; and discussed strengthening ASEAN economic security in the context of a rapidly changing geo-economic environment, emphasizing the necessity of promoting economic security on the basis of openness, diversification and deep integration; thereby considering the possibility of building an ASEAN Economic Security Framework.
Participating in discussions at the conference, Vietnam expressed its support for the Philippines' priority economic cooperation initiatives in the ASEAN Chairmanship year 2025 and actively exchanged opinions on related contents in the agenda, contributing to the success of the conference.
On the sidelines of the conference, ASEAN countries participated in a workshop to exchange views on ASEAN economic security focusing on policy recommendations on common approaches such as strengthening inter-pillar coordination mechanisms; promoting cooperation in priority areas such as strategic trade management, strategic supply chains, digital economy, energy and food security; and enhancing timeliness, flexibility and participation of stakeholders through dialogue and early warning mechanisms.
The 49th HLTF-EI Conference concluded successfully, making recommendations on ASEAN economic integration to be submitted to the narrow ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting to be held in March 2026.
