Prime Minister to Visit to Cambodia, Attend 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits

Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang at the Foreign Ministry’s press briefing on November 3. Photo: VNA

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will pay an official visit to Cambodia from November 8 to November 9, and attend the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related meetings from November 10 to November 13, VOV and VNA reported.

This information was released by Le Thi Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a regular press briefing held on November 3 in Hanoi.

This marks the first official visit to Cambodia made by Pham Minh Chinh in the role of Vietnamese Prime Minister, as well as the first visit made by a senior Vietnamese leader to Cambodia during the Vietnam – Cambodia friendship year.

“The visit takes places in the context that the good neighborliness, traditional friendship, and long-term sustainable comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia continue to grow steadily. The two sides have coordinated to organize a series of activities to celebrate the 55th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. Two-way trade turnover during the past nine months of 2022 reached US$8.45 billion, up 16.7% on- year,” Hang said.

Within the framework of the visit, PM Chinh is set to hold talks with his Cambodian counterpart Prime Minister Hun Sen before the pair attend and deliver a speech at the Vietnam – Cambodia Trade Investment Promotion Forum.

Furthermore, he is scheduled to meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, president of the Senate Say Chum, chairman of the National Assembly, Heng Samrin, and some other senior leaders.

This also marks the first time PM Chinh has directly attended ASEAN summits and between the bloc and its partners.

These high-level meetings mark the resumption of direct exchanges and dialogues held between leaders after more than a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Photo: Thoi Dai

This will be a prime opportunity for leaders of various countries to come together and discuss efforts to develop the ASEAN Community, reinforce solidarity and ASEAN’s centrality, review and outline orientations for the relationship between the bloc and its partners, and compare notes on strategic issues of both the region and the wider world.

PM Chinh is expected to attend more than 20 activities with many important meetings where he will join other leaders in discussing major issues such as the ASEAN Community building, the bloc’s external relations, and centrality, along with international and regional issues of shared concern.

“As an active and responsible member of ASEAN, Vietnam will work closely with the host country Cambodia as well as other ASEAN members to ensure that the meetings take place successfully and achieve substantive results as a contribution to strengthening solidarity and the central role of ASEAN, promoting mutually beneficial relations between ASEAN and its partners, harmoniously handling the problems faced by ASEAN, thus accelerating the process of building a peaceful and stable ASEAN Community in Southeast Asia in particular, and in the Asia-Pacific in general,” the spokesperson added.

With regard to the Myanmar situation, Hang emphasized that Myanmar is a neighboring country in the region and also a member of ASEAN. Vietnam always hopes the situation in Myanmar will be stabilized early to facilitate national construction and development for the sake of the Myanmar people, and to contribute to the building of a united, self-reliant, and strong ASEAN Community.

In that spirit, Vietnam supports and is ready to contribute to ASEAN’s efforts to help Myanmar overcome the current crisis, especially through the effective implementation of the Five-Point Consensus with priority given to ending violence and promoting dialogue and reconciliation among the parties concerned for the sake of the Myanmar people, the solidarity and integrity of ASEAN, and regional peace, stability, and cooperation.

ASEAN’s assistance for Myanmar should be carried out step by step, concertedly, balancedly, and transparently. The bloc should also be the core force gathering and coordinating international efforts to support Myanmar, according to the spokesperson.