On the afternoon of August 4, on the occasion of the 59th anniversary of ASEAN's establishment, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and the 31st anniversary of Vietnam's accession to ASEAN, in Hanoi, on behalf of the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam, General Secretary and President To Lam received Ambassadors and representatives of ASEAN countries to pay a courtesy visit.
General Secretary and President To Lam thanked ASEAN and ASEAN member countries for accompanying Vietnam in the development process; wishing the Ambassadors and Charges to continue to promote the important bridge role to strengthen cooperation, coordinate implementation, contributing to bringing cooperation between Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries to continue to develop.
General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed that Vietnam continues to firmly adhere to the path of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, multilateralization, and diversification of foreign relations. Vietnam values relations with ASEAN and ASEAN countries, considering ASEAN as a close family and very close neighboring countries. General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized that Vietnam wishes to continue to promote relations to become deeper, more substantive, stable, reliable and long-term sustainable, together building a united and strong ASEAN Community.
Representing the Ambassadors and Charges of ASEAN countries in Hanoi, Philippine Ambassador Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III conveyed greetings and visits from senior leaders of ASEAN countries to General Secretary and President To Lam. The Philippine Ambassador emphasized that ASEAN countries highly appreciate Vietnam's role and contributions in more than 3 decades of official membership in ASEAN.
The Philippine Ambassador welcomed Vietnam's organization of the ASEAN Future Forum 2026, which was of interest to countries in the region, with a large number of participants, helping to strengthen internal ASEAN connections on channels, actively contributing to the common efforts of the ASEAN Chairmanship year of the Philippines to build the ASEAN Community and strengthen ASEAN relations with important international partners outside the region.
The Philippine Ambassador affirmed the common commitment of ASEAN countries to promote the ASEAN Community building process, implement the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, the important results of the 48th ASEAN Summit, promote ASEAN's foreign affairs network, and maintain ASEAN solidarity in responding to common challenges.
Sharing about the direction of cooperation in ASEAN, General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized that in the context of a rapidly changing and complex world, ASEAN and ASEAN countries need to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, consolidate political trust, solidarity, improve resilience, strategic autonomy, and resolve disagreements within ASEAN; promote socio-economic development cooperation, trade, and investment between ASEAN countries and between ASEAN and partners, focusing on potential and complementary areas, narrowing the development gap between member countries.
Agreeing with the assessments and orientations of the General Secretary and President, the Philippine Ambassador affirmed that ASEAN countries are committed to continuing to closely coordinate with relevant agencies of Vietnam to promote bilateral relations as well as contribute to building a strong, dynamic, creative ASEAN Community with the people at the center, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in Southeast Asia and the world.
