Addressing the opening ceremony, Cambodian PM Samdech Techo Hun Sen highlighted the significance of the bloc’s 55th founding anniversary.
The 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related summits are an occasion for countries to make review and renew determination to strive for a united, resilient, inclusive, and rules-based future, he noted.
The Cambodian leader stressed the need to be fully aware that ASEAN and the region are facing numerous difficulties and challenges, which urgently requires an overall approach and sound vision, orientations, and policies. This is also the theme of ASEAN in 2022 - “Addressing Challenges Together”.
Looking towards the future, the bloc should strongly uphold the values that have made its successes over the more than five decades, PM Hun Sen added.
After the opening ceremony, ASEAN leaders attended a plenary session of the 40th ASEAN Summit and a retreat meeting of the 41st summit.
At the 40th ASEAN summit, regional leaders applauded the efforts of Cambodia to lead and outline orientations for ASEAN cooperation with many important initiatives.
Addressing the event, PM Pham Minh Chinh said, amidst the regional and global economic slowdown, the ASEAN needs to strongly open its markets, remove trade barriers, and work together to create new growth engines to catch up with current major transition trend.
He proposed the organization of a high-level forum in the first half of 2023 to promote partnership for equitable recovery and sustainable growth in ASEAN.
The 41st ASEAN summit focused on the bloc’s external relations, the regional architecture, and regional and international issues of common concern.
In his remarks, PM Pham Minh Chinh reaffirmed the importance of solidarity maintenance, internal strength promotion, and persistence in the association’s principles, among others.
Together with other ASEAN leaders, the Vietnamese leader stressed the need to solidify ASEAN’s principled stance on the East Sea issue. He also expressed his opinions on a number of issues, including the Myanmar situation, the Russia - Ukraine conflict, and climate change, among others.
