Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh virtually attended and delivered a speech at the launching ceremony of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) on Monday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Organized in both online and offline formats, the launch of the IPEF saw the attendance of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the economic ministers of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and leaders of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The leaders shared a vision of an open, inclusive, equitable, rules-based, connected, resilient, secure, and prosperous Asia-Pacific region with the potential for sustainable and inclusive economic growth, which will be the driving force for the global economy.

They also upheld the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The leaders emphasized the urgency of working closely to ensure economic recovery and development on an adaptive, sustainable, and inclusive basis.

They affirmed the importance of improving economic competitiveness, transparency and anti-corruption, cooperation, maintaining essential supply chains, promoting economic growth, creating jobs, and expanding economic opportunities for the people.

They agreed to launch the discussion on IPEF and were willing to invite countries interest in the region to participate in the hope that this cooperation framework will help boost their economies’ resilience, especially during the post-pandemic recovery.

This will thereby enhance competitiveness, adaptability, sustainability, and inclusivity, contributing to cooperation, stability, prosperity, development, and peace in the region, for the practical interests of the people.

Discussions in the coming time will focus on four pillars, namely trade; supply chains; clean energy, decarbonization, and infrastructure; and taxation and anti-corruption.

Speaking at the ceremony, PM Chinh underlined the need to make growth models and economic linkages more sustainable and more resilient, and to fully tap internal power and external resources.

He called for upholding multilateralism and strengthening international solidarity on the basis of sincerity, trust, and responsibility.

This event will kick-start discussions among countries to jointly address regional and global issues, including supply chain diversification and sustainability, technological innovation, digital transformation, e-commerce, climate change, emission reduction, green development, taxation, and anti-corruption, among others.

The premier stated that Vietnam is determined to build an independent and self-reliant economy in association with extensive and substantive international integration.

The country is participating in various economic connectivity initiatives and making positive and responsible contributions to the common efforts to accelerate sustainable economic recovery and development in the region and the world.

The IPEF discussions should aim to formulate a framework that can bring practical benefits to the people, PM Chinh continued, adding that Vietnam will work with other ASEAN member states and relevant partners to further clarify the content of the cooperation pillars of this framework.

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