ASEAN+3 countries need to boost multilateral cooperation in COVID-19 management, recovery

VGP – Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on ASEAN Plus Three countries to foster multilateral cooperation in effectively managing the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining and rebooting socio-economic recovery.

October 27, 2021 7:45 PM GMT+7

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (center) attends the 24th ASEAN Plus Three Summit via video conference, October 27, 2021. Photo: VGP

Pham made the call at the 24th ASEAN Plus Three Summit held virtually on Wednesday afternoon.

He suggested China, Japan and the Republic of Korea help ASEAN acquire COVID-19 vaccine and drug production technologies and improve the bloc’s early warning capacity to respond to future health emergencies.

Pham asked these partners to assist ASEAN in infrastructure development, climate change adaptation, digital transformation, human resource development, and development gap narrowing in a bid to speed up sustainable economic recovery.

He also suggested the ASEAN Plus Three countries to mull over the establishment of a social security network in the region to strengthen social security and safety for their citizens.

Sharing the views expressed during the summit, PM Pham emphasized the need that ASEAN Plus Three countries should continue making positive contributions to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.

He asked China, Japan and the Republic of Korea to support ASEAN’s efforts to make the East Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation, affirming that ASEAN is willing to support the process of dialogue and cooperation, humanitarian assistance, and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula./.

By Huong Giang