The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has recorded many economic achievements in 2023 when Indonesia holds the ASEAN Chairmanship, a Vietnamese official has said.

Nguyen Anh Duc, Vietnam’s permanent economic representative at ASEAN, said Indonesia has housed 16 Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) this year under three strategic thrusts, namely recovery and rebuilding, digital economy, and sustainability, of which 11 have so far been basically completed while the remainders are expected to be achieved within this year.   

Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) following the 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings, which took place in Indonesia from September 5-7, Duc said the most notable achievement lies with this year’s theme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” which dominated the three-day agenda.

Specifically, the Declaration on ASEAN as an Epicentrum of Growth freshly adopted by ASEAN leaders sets forth strategic directions for regional economic development in both short and long terms, he noted.

Accordingly, ASEAN will strengthen its resilience against future shocks and leverage new growth drivers, towards sustainable development, the official continued.

Speaking of cooperation in green economy, an important content in the declaration, Duc said Indonesia has prioritised it with the overarching goal of balancing between economic growth and environmental protection.

An outstanding result of this goal is the adoption of three PEDs, covering the building of the ASEAN Strategy for Carbon Neutrality, the ASEAN 3 high-level declaration on developing regional electric vehicle ecosystem, and the formation of the Blue Economy Framework, all completed at the 43rd ASEAN Summit, he said.