Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn in Kuala Lumpur

Pham highly valued the role and contributions of the ASEAN Secretariat and the Secretary-General in coordinating the ASEAN Community building process, connecting and supporting the ASEAN Member States, expressing his wish that the ASEAN Secretariat would continue working with the Member States to ralize the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and strategic plans.

Kao, for his part, thanked Pham’s affection towards the ASEAN Secretariat, affirming Viet Nam is a key ASEAN member with increasingly important role and contributions.

Both sides agreed that ASEAN needs to double efforts to maintain solidarity and centrality in addressing the common issues in the region, increase strategic autonomy, diversify markets and partnerships by expanding cooperation with Latin America, Middle East and European countries.

The two sides also agreed that the bloc should increase investment in science and technology, especially digital technologies, artificial intelligence, semiconductor chip to create new driving forces for growth while fostering cooperation in culture, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges./.