On May 8, at the Mactan Expo Convention Center in Cebu (Philippines), the opening ceremony and plenary session of the 48th ASEAN Summit took place.
Politburo Member, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and the high-level Vietnamese delegation attended these events.
Speaking at the plenary session, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung affirmed Vietnam's support and commitment to cooperation with the President of the Philippines and member countries to realize the Philippines' priorities and initiatives in 2026.
Emphasizing the interconnected and multi-dimensional challenges, the question posed to ASEAN is not "will it be affected or not?" but "how will ASEAN respond and how will they respond together?", Prime Minister Le Minh Hung made three major proposals:
First of all, it is necessary to focus resources to ensure essential security needs including energy security, food security and human security, including the ratification and effective implementation of the ASEAN Oil and Gas Security Agreement, the substantive implementation of the ASEAN Energy Cooperation Action Plan for the period 2026 - 2030, the ASEAN Power Grid and the ASEAN Gas Pipeline System; diversifying energy sources, promoting energy transition, strengthening access to green finance and advanced technology; improving the effectiveness of existing food security frameworks and agreements, strengthening strategic reserves and establishing emergency reserve mechanisms, specifically for rice and other essential goods.
The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam is ready to provide food support in emergency situations, share relevant experiences with ASEAN member countries and will continue to closely coordinate with ASEAN member countries in supporting citizens.
Second, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung proposed promoting substantive cooperation to strengthen ASEAN's internal capacity and resilience. Accordingly, it is necessary to effectively implement the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and soon complete the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).
Third, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung called for strengthening ASEAN coordination and solidarity, in which it is necessary to improve the effectiveness of inter-sectoral consultation and coordination in emergencies, as well as continue to promote the coordinating role of the ASEAN Secretariat to ensure that regional commitments are implemented continuously, synchronously and effectively.
Vietnam's proposals were welcomed and highly appreciated by ASEAN leaders for their content and timeliness. Based on Vietnam's proposals, the conference discussed and agreed to issue the ASEAN Leadership Statement on Priority Actions to Strengthen Regional Autonomy to Respond to the Consequences of the Middle East Situation; expressing ASEAN's political views on the consequences of the Middle East situation, the vision of ASEAN leaders to position ASEAN in the regional structure, along with a common action-oriented and highly implemented response strategy and measures.
