Vietnam became an official member of ASEAN in July 1995 during the 28th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Brunei. The accession to ASEAN marked an important milestone on Vietnam’s path of regional integration, while opening up opportunities for the country's socio-economic development and creating favourable conditions for Vietnam to promote its role and position in the international arena.
Three years after joining ASEAN, Vietnam successfully hosted the 6th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi in December 1998. The important results achieved at the summit, including the Hanoi Plan of Action, contributed to strengthening solidarity, promoting cooperation, and orienting the association's development to implement the ASEAN Vision 2020.
In order to contribute to realising the idea of making ASEAN become “common house” of 10 Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam actively and strongly promoted the admission of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to ASEAN, opening a new page for the association and the region in general.
Vietnam has made significant contributions to identifying ASEAN’s development goals and orientations and forming ASEAN’s major development directions and policies, including the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, as well as numerous agreements on bridging the development gap.
While assuming the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN in 2010, Vietnam launched a series of initiatives including the expansion of the East Asia Summit (EAS) to admit the US and Russia, and organising the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) for the first time.
2020 marked the fifth anniversary of ASEAN’s establishment and Vietnam’s 25th year of ASEAN membership. Vietnam lived up to its ASEAN 2020 chairmanship theme of “cohesive and responsive” amid challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, establishing as firm and reliable foundation and led the Association's members to realise the dual task of effectively responding to the pandemic, while promoting efforts to build the ASEAN Community.
Vietnam has actively contributed to the building and development of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea/South China Sea (DOC) and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). These documents formed the common stance of ASEAN to promote cooperation in the region on the basis of values, fundamental principles and the central role of the association.
ASEAN has increasingly asserted its position as a strong and cohesive regional association, and an important partner of many countries and organisations around the world.
Vietnam has made practical contributions to ASEAN’s cooperation process, as well as coordinating cooperation mechanisms between ASEAN and its partners, such as China, the EU, India and Japan.
Together with other member countries and partners of ASEAN, Vietnam promoted the negotiations, signing and implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, which has opened up opportunities for economic growth in the region in the post-epidemic era.
Over the past 30 years, Vietnam's important contributions to ASEAN have been highly appreciated by the association’s member countries and partners. In the coming time, Vietnam will continue to join hands with ASEAN member states to maintain the regional cooperation and connectivity, reinforce ASEAN's central role and position, and effectively respond to challenges, thus significantly contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region and the world at large.
