ASEAN must play stronger role in shaping norms, rules and frameworks for cooperation

 

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung addresses the 3rd ASEAN Future Forum, Ha Noi, June 9, 2026. Photo: VGP

Addressing the 3rd ASEAN Future Forum in Ha Noi on Tuesday, the Vietnamese Prime Minister said ASEAN has been among the regions that benefited from peace, international integration and open trade.

However, in an increasingly fragmented and competitive world, ASEAN must play a stronger role in shaping emerging norms, rules, and frameworks for cooperation, and in addressing differences on the basis of international law.

ASEAN should become a center for dialogue, a focal point for cooperation, and an anchor of trust, thus making distinctive contribution to peace, stability, and development in our region and beyond, emphasized the Vietnamese Prime Minister.

He also said ASEAN should not only be a manufacturing hub but a hub of innovation. Its workforce and strategic geography have made ASEAN an indispensible link in global supply chains. Yet in the digital age, the future will belong not only to economies that manufacture, but increasingly to those that innovate.

ASEAN should not merely be a place where technology is consumed, it should become a place where technology iss created. ASEAN should not merely be a corridor through which supply chains pass, it should become a place where value chains are built.

This requires more robust investments from ASEAN in science and technology, innovation, digital economy, and high-quality human capital, aiming for an ASEAN technology and digital ecosystem that reflects our own values while contributing meaningfully to the evolution of global norms and standards.

In addition, ASEAN should not only be a community of states, but a community truly centered on its people, said Le.

The ultimate measure of any development strategies is not economic statistics, but the quality of life enjoyed by our citizens. Innovation that widens inequality can not be considered progress.

A successful ASEAN should be measured not only by GDP, but also by the opportunities it creates for young people, the empowerment it provides to women, the protection it affords to vulnerable groups, and the extent to which every citizen feels a genuine sense of belonging to our community.

On that journey, Viet Nam will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow ASEAN Member States, driven by a shared determination to shape the future together as the future of VIet Nam is indispensible from the future of ASEAN.

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