Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives the ASEAN chairmanship hammer from his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha at the closing of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok on November 4, 2019. (Photo: VGP)

Under the article “How Will Vietnam’s 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship Play Out?” published in the magazine on November 8, author Prashanth Parameswaran gave comments on the increasingly active role of Vietnam in ASEAN.

The author said that by assuming the ASEAN chairmanship next year, Vietnam will mark a step forward in its role: “On November 4, Vietnam officially took over ASEAN’s annually rotating chairmanship from Thailand in a ceremony in Bangkok, marking yet another step towards its assumption of the role in 2020.”

Since joining ASEAN in 1995, due to a range of steps including reforms (Doi Moi) at home and increasing integration with the outside world, Vietnam has rapidly emerged as “one of the fastest-growing economies and dependable partners in both Southeast Asia as well as ASEAN,” the article wrote.

Within ASEAN, including as chair twice in 1998 and 2010, Vietnam has helped advance several priorities, including closing development gaps among Southeast Asian states, developing new institutions, and engaging other powers, it said, adding that Vietnam’s 2020 chairmanship will touch on some of these areas, particularly given the fact that it also marks 25 years of Vietnam’s membership in ASEAN as well as the midpoint mark between the ASEAN Community in 2015 and the post-2015 ASEAN Community Vision 2025. 

The author also expressed a belief that Vietnam will do well as ASEAN Chair in 2020, the year that it will also simultaneously hold a non-permanent United Nations Security Council seat. 

Foreign Ministry: Vietnam ready for ASEAN Year 2020

Vietnam has been ready with organizational apparatus, personnel and projects and overall action plan for ASEAN Year 2020, said deputy spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry Ngo Toan Thang at a regular press conference in Hanoi on November 7.

Chairmanship to help Vietnam affirm stature in ASEAN

The chairmanship of ASEAN for 2020 that Vietnam officially assumed on November 4 will be a chance for the country to affirm its role and stature while further showing itself as an active member of the ASEAN Community.