From 20 to 24 May 2024, the 2nd ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting 2024 (SEOM 2/55) and related meetings took place in Bangkok, Thailand with the participation of senior economic officials from 10 ASEAN countries, some ASEAN partner countries and the Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN. The Vietnamese delegation was led by Ms. Nguyen Viet Chi, Head of SEOM Vietnam.

The SEOM is an annual meeting to deploy, monitor and review activities in the economic pillars of ASEAN. The SEOM 2/55 discussed the implementation of Laos' priority economic initiatives during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024, the implementation of the 2024 annual priorities, and the direction of the Ministers at the ASEAN Economic Ministers' Retreat and the development of the ASEAN Economic Community Strategic Plan for the period 2026-2030, with a vision to 2045.

The meeting updated the progress of negotiations on the ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Digital Economy (DEFA), the implementation of the ASEAN Industrial Project Initiative Exchange Framework, the implementation of the Protocol on the Enhancement of the ASEAN Dispute Settlement Mechanism, and the status of Timor Leste's accession to ASEAN. The meeting noted the potential economic cooperation between ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Switzerland, as well as reviewed cooperation activities with a number of ASEAN partners, namely Japan, China, the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong (China).

At the Conference, the Vietnamese representative discussed and made a number of positive proposals, thereby promoting the conclusion of the discussion on the draft Declaration of Cooperation between ASEAN and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and promoting the handling of a number of issues in intra-ASEAN economic cooperation.

During the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2024 with the theme "ASEAN: Promoting Connectivity and Resilience", Laos has proposed 14 priority economic cooperation initiatives, focusing on three main directions: Recovering and connecting economies; Creating an inclusive and sustainable future; Transforming towards a digital future.

Laos' 14 Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) include:

1. ASEAN Declaration on Strengthening Supply Chain Connectivity;

2. Reviewing the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation;

3. Upgrading the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA);

4. Second Protocol to the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA);

5. Revised Strategy to Narrow the Development Gap and Promote Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Growth in the ASEAN Region;

6. Strategy/Guidelines for Reduction of Crop Burning to Support the Implementation of the ASEAN Carbon Neutrality Strategy;

7. ASEAN Action Plan on Sustainable Agriculture;

8. Successor Arrangement on the ASEAN Power Grid and Multilateral Electricity Trade in the Region;

9. ASEAN Ecotourism Standards on Operations, Facilities and Services;

10. Addressing the Financing Gap among Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises;

11. Study on the Next Generation ASEAN Single Window;

12. Roadmap on Digital Trade Standards in ASEAN;

13. ASEAN e-learning platform for Industry 4.0;

14. Roadmap for developing a unique ASEAN Business Identification Number.