HANOI, April 22 (Bernama-VNA) -- The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024), which will take place in Hanoi on April 23, is expected to create a platform for stakeholders to contribute ideas and initiatives on ASEAN’s future vision, said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet.
According to Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Viet said that government leaders and ministers from ASEAN countries are scheduled to deliver speeches, with nearly 400 delegates registered to take part in the forum.
He said they include Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone of Laos - ASEAN Chair 2024, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Brunei Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn.
Viet mentioned that the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair are to send pre-recorded messages to the forum.
Viet noted that many leading regional and international scholars have also confirmed their attendance, including former Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marty Natalegawa and former Singapore Minister of Foreign Affairs George Yeo.
“This is a forum exclusively for ASEAN, and for its people, where all stakeholders will share new initiatives to help ASEAN leaders devise strategies and visions for the group in the coming time, helping to bring practical benefits to people,” he said in an interview with the press.
Furthermore, the Vietnamese deputy foreign minister said that a summary of opinions is to be raised during the forum which will be sent to ASEAN high-ranking leaders through official channels.
The bloc's proposals are also expected to be forwarded to the UN as one of its contributions to preparations for the UN Summit of the Future in September.
In addition to plenary sessions, Viet said that there will be a business session on how to optimise development opportunities amidst the current digital transformation, which will be co-chaired by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Chinh and his Lao counterpart Sonexay, with the participation of experts and enterprises of Vietnam, ASEAN and partner countries.
“The session will offer a chance for businesses to look into advantages, difficulties and opportunities in the context of digital transformation, and build new networks,”.
“The official stressed that rapid, sustainable and people-centred development is an issue of common concern of the world and all ASEAN countries,”.
“This is a basic and essential need of ASEAN given many economic difficulties as well as non-traditional security challenges such as climate change, natural disasters or epidemics, and supply chain disruptions,” he emphasised.
He said to this end, the forum will examine how to harmonise between development and environmental protection and climate change response, to ensure social security, as well as to place people at the centre of all development-related decisions of each country and the region as a whole.
He added that as one of the biggest multilateral diplomatic events hosted by Vietnam this year, the forum once again demonstrates Vietnam's desire to contribute more to regional cooperation and promote its core role in regional and international collaboration.
-- BERNAMA-VNA
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