Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Friday (Sept 13) urged the Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean BAC) to collaborate closely with the governments and citizens of Asean countries on critical initiatives to drive further economic development, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
There is a strengthening chorus of calls for ASEAN to walk the talk in its claims of centrality in managing the challenges to peace and prosperity in Southeast Asia. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an opportunity for the region to collaborate and avoid the increasing securitisation of economic policy. Through RCEP, ASEAN can defend the multilateral trading system amid backsliding open markets and a stagnating World Trade Organization.
Amid the rising economic cooperation between Cambodia and Indonesia, the bilateral trade volume in 2023 has increased by 15 percent while in the first six months of this year, it reached nearly $580 million, making it possible to surpass $1.1 billion by the end of this year.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto have expressed confidence that the two countries will soon reach the bilateral trade target of US$18 billion in the time ahead.
The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), during its recent annual consultation visit to the Philippines from Aug. 27 to Sept. 6, noted that the Philippine economy continued to grow steadily at six percent in the first half of this year, driven by strong domestic demand and export recovery.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto in Hanoi on September 14, during which he proposed Indonesia soon sign a rice trade cooperation agreement with Vietnam.
Hong Kong is primed to bring “singular and significant value” to the world’s largest free-trade pact once its membership is approved, the city’s leader has said, while vowing to help Southeast Asia countries capitalise on opportunities in the Greater Bay Area.
Laos is set to take a significant step in its economic development by becoming the sixth country to enter a validation agreement with the European Patent Office (EPO). This agreement will allow patents granted by the EPO to be recognized and enforced in Laos, making it easier for European patent holders to extend their protection into the Laotian market. This move is expected to impact not only European businesses but also Laos’s economic landscape.
<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
