On the morning of May 8 (local time), the 48th ASEAN Summit officially opened at the Mactan Expo Center in Cebu City, Philippines, with the participation of leaders of ASEAN member countries, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn and a number of international organizations.
Politburo Member, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung led the high-level Vietnamese delegation to attend the conference.
Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. chaired the welcoming ceremony for the heads of delegations attending the conference.
Speaking at the opening, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. - ASEAN Chairman 2026 - emphasized that the region is facing a "decisive moment" as the international environment becomes increasingly complex and unstable, especially the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on security, economy and people's lives in the region.
The Philippine President highly appreciated the coordination between ASEAN member countries and partners in the fields of diplomacy, economy, agriculture and energy to respond to current challenges; emphasized that the discussions at the conference will focus on the "3P" strategy proposed by the Philippines, including: Strengthening peace and security, expanding prosperity corridors and empowering people.
President Marcos called on ASEAN countries to continue to promote the spirit of solidarity, openness and joint responsibility to build a region of peace, stability and sustainable development.
The 48th ASEAN Summit is one of the two annual regular meetings of ASEAN leaders in 2026, an important opportunity for leaders of countries to share and comprehensively assess the world and regional situation, and agree on strategic orientations and measures to strengthen ASEAN cooperation.
At the conference, Politburo Member, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung will deliver important speeches, conveying the foreign policy message of the 14th Party Congress and Vietnam's views on ASEAN's priorities, making practical proposals to strengthen the process of building the ASEAN Community, contributing to strengthening ASEAN's resilience and response to fluctuations, especially the impacts of the Middle East situation, and exchanging regional and international issues of common concern.
