The ASEAN Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting (SEOM) Retreat took place from December 4 to 5, 2024, in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Leading the Vietnamese delegation at the meeting was Vietnam’s SEOM Leader, Ms. Nguyen Viet Chi, Deputy Director General of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade).

Following Laos’ handover of the ASEAN Chairmanship to Malaysia at the 43rd & 44th ASEAN Summits held in Vientiane, Laos, in October 2024, the SEOM Retreat was the first meeting within ASEAN’s economic channel under Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025. With the theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability," 2025 is expected to be a year for Malaysia to promote agendas related to sustainable and inclusive development in building a regional community.

At the SEOM Retreat, Malaysia introduced an initial outline of the Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) for its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, centered around four strategic directions:

(i) Promoting trade and investment;

(ii) Developing a roadmap for inclusivity and sustainability;

(iii) Enhancing economic integration and connectivity;

(iv) Building a resilient digital ASEAN economy.

The PEDs represent key economic cooperation activities for ASEAN member states to complete in 2025 under the guidance of the rotating Chairmanship. These initiatives aim to build on ASEAN’s regional achievements while fostering economic cooperation. During the meeting, ASEAN member states welcomed Malaysia’s initiatives and affirmed their commitment to closely coordinating with the Chair to develop and finalize the PEDs in preparation for adoption at the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat (AEM Retreat), scheduled for February 25, 2025.

The meeting also reviewed the Priority Economic Deliverables of Laos during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024, acknowledging the completion of 10 out of 14 PEDs to date. The remaining PEDs are expected to be finalized by December 2024 or in the first quarter of 2025. The meeting agreed to assign specialized working groups to expedite domestic procedures to ensure the timely completion of all the economic priorities set by Laos during its Chairmanship year.