Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the ASEAN+1 foreign ministers’ meetings with China, Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand in Kuala Lumpur on July 10.

Vietnam also co-chaired the ASEAN-New Zealand Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in its capacity as coordinator for ASEAN-New Zealand relations.

The meetings took place within the framework of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related events.

Participants praised the effective implementation of the cooperation frameworks between ASEAN and its partners, particularly in trade, investment, sustainable development, smart agriculture, energy, education, tourism, innovation, and digital transformation. The partners reaffirmed support for ASEAN’s centrality and pledged to help implement the bloc’s strategic documents such as the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, and the ASEAN Power Grid.

Co-chairing the ASEAN-New Zealand meeting, Deputy PM and FM Bui Thanh Son and New Zealand FM Winston Peters lauded the longstanding and trusted partnership for common development between ASEAN and New Zealand.

Son, on behalf of ASEAN countries, commended the strong and substantive growth in the partnership over the past 50 years and supported elevating it to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership this year.

ASEAN welcomed New Zealand’s support in cybersecurity, maritime security, disaster relief, and transnational crime combat. It welcomed the entry into force of the protocol amending the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), calling on New Zealand to continue assisting the bloc to narrow the development gap, support inclusive and sustainable growth, especially in sub-regions like the Mekong one, and step up aviation connectivity and e-commerce.

In particular, ASEAN lauded New Zealand’s commitment of over 329 million NZD (over 198 million USD) for regional programmes on climate, renewable energy, smart agriculture, and disaster response.

Speaking at the meetings, the Vietnamese Deputy PM and FM underlined the strategic importance of further strengthening ASEAN’s partnerships with the partner countries amid rapid, complex, and unpredictable developments in the region and the world.

Vietnam highly values the partners’ continued support for ASEAN centrality, their active engagement in ASEAN-led mechanisms, and assistance with the ASEAN Community building process, Son noted.

He also hailed the efforts to upgrade, revise, and review free trade agreements such as the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) 3.0, the amended AANZFTA, the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), and the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement, to ensure fair, inclusive, and adaptable trade amid the new global economic landscape.

Vietnam called for enhanced support for MSMEs in digital trade, as well as for green development, supply chain connectivity, and sub-regional development.

Son also stressed the need for reinforcing cooperation to tackle non-traditional security challenges such as climate change, food and energy security, natural disasters, and epidemics. He also urged fostering regional cooperation initiatives in education and people-to-people exchange.

Amid rising uncertainty in the geopolitical landscape, the official emphasised the importance of enhancing dialogue, consultation, and trust building. He appealed to the partners to keep advocating ASEAN’s principled stance on regional and international issues, including the East Sea issue to jointly ensuring peace, stability, cooperation, and sustainable development in the waters.

The same day, ASEAN+1 foreign ministers𒅌' meetings with Japan, Russia, the Republic of Korea, and the US, as well as the ASEAN+3 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (with Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea), also took place./.