Lao media highlight 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings
Lao newspapers devoted their front pages of November 13 editions to highlighting the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings, with a focus on appreciating the role of Vietnam, as ASEAN Chair in 2020, and ASEAN’s efforts to fight COVID-19 and boost economic recovery.
The Pasaxon newspaper - the mouthpiece of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party - said that during the summit, chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, ASEAN leaders hailed the implementation of the bloc’s priorities under the role of Vietnam as ASEAN Chair, including intensifying intra-bloc solidarity, promoting the central role of ASEAN, and maintaining peace, stability, and cooperation in a rapidly-changing world.
It said that ASEAN leaders also lauded Vietnam’s role and affirmed that the country had contributed to enhancing the bloc’s unity and narrowing development gaps between member states.
The Vientiane Times quoted Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith as saying the summit that he greatly values ASEAN’s achievements and Vietnam’s chairmanship.
He called on member countries to speed up efforts to acquire supplies for treating people with COVID-19, as well as vaccines, along with cooperating in economic promotion within the bloc.
Improved trade supply chains and assistance for micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in obtaining financing and modern technology was also of major importance, he said.
Other priorities should include digitalisation and improved supply chains for better connectivity through land, maritime, and air transport, to accelerate the supply of consumer goods, he added.
Meanwhile, the Setthakit Sangkhome newspaper highlighted the approval of six important documents, including the Hanoi Declaration on a Post-2025 ASEAN Vision, the Hanoi Declaration on the Adoption of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (2021-2025), the ASEAN Declaration on Digital Tourism, and the Ha Noi Declaration on Strengthening Social Work towards a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN Community.
Lao media also ran articles on other summits held on November 12 within the framework of the ASEAN Summit, including the 23rd ASEAN-China Summit, the 23rd ASEAN-Japan Summit, the 21st ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit, the 17th ASEAN-India Summit, and the ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit.
