Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh honored as Distinguished ASEAN Leader 2025

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the ASEAN Leadership and Partnership Forum (ALPF) on May 25 in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) during his official visit and participation in the 46th ASEAN Summit. The event has strategic significance and attracts great attention from regional and international communities.

At the forum, the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific honored Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh with the title of "Distinguished ASEAN Leader 2025" in recognition of his outstanding contributions to promoting sustainable development and regional connectivity.

Vietnam – A "shining star" of ASEAN

The ALPF is an annual event organized by KSI, Malaysia's leading policy research and advisory institute, in collaboration with partners such as the ASEAN Economic Club. This year's forum brought together representatives from ASEAN member states, the business community, and numerous international organizations. The forum aims to exchange, orient, and jointly build a prosperous, resilient, and sustainable ASEAN community.

Speaking at the forum, Mr. Michael Yeoh, Chairman of KSI, along with many international speakers, highly appreciated Vietnam’s increasingly prominent role and position in the region. According to the delegates, Vietnam is currently the fastest-growing economy in ASEAN and is a "shining star" attracting investment thanks to its deep integration policies, strategic position in the global supply chain, and political and social stability.

Joining hands for a resilient and prosperous ASEAN

Speaking at the forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his gratitude for the strong attendance of delegates and emphasized that the forum is a valuable opportunity to enhance mutual understanding, solidarity, and cooperation for shared development.

In the face of complex and unpredictable global fluctuations, the Prime Minister affirmed that unity is the only path for ASEAN countries to jointly overcome challenges, promote progress, social equity, and sustainable development, ensuring that no one is left behind.

He called on the business community to continue playing a pioneering role in building a resilient ASEAN of fast and sustainable development, contributing to a prosperous and happy life for the people in the region.

To realize this vision, the Prime Minister proposed many specific measures with a strong focus on key areas of cooperation. The measures include enhancing business linkages to boost intra-regional and global economic connectivity; developing institutions and policies in harmonization and alignment with global trends; restoring supply and production chains disrupted by the pandemic; diversifying markets and products to avoid dependence on any single region; accelerating public–private partnerships across all sectors; and promoting green, clean, and digital agriculture as a pillar of the economy.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that for enterprises to effectively implement these goals, governments must play a constructive role, formulating stable policies, creating a favorable environment, and promoting development pillars such as the digital economy, green economy, science and technology, and innovation.

Award is honored for the Vietnamese people

Reflecting on the country's achievements over the past four decades of its Doi Moi (Renewal) process, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reaffirmed that Vietnam is striving to implement three strategic breakthroughs in institutions, infrastructure, and human resources, along with four major pillars, including science and technology, digital transformation, private sector development, and international integration.

He affirmed Vietnam's commitment to safeguarding property rights, freedom of business, and equal access to resources for all domestic and foreign enterprises. The government remains steadfast in its stance of "not criminalizing civil and economic relations," prioritizing economic solutions, administrative reforms, and shifting the management model from "passive handling" to "proactive service."

The Prime Minister emphasized the spirit of "Three Together": listening and understanding together; sharing and acting together; working, enjoying, and developing together. The goal is to build an increasingly united, sustainable, and prosperous ASEAN.

Concluding his speech, the Prime Minister sincerely thanked the KSI Institute for awarding him the title of “Distinguished ASEAN Leader 2025,” affirming that this honor is a collective recognition for the Party, State, and people of Vietnam, of which he is merely the honored representative to receive it.

On this occasion, on behalf of the leadership of the Party and State, General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, and the Government of Vietnam, the Prime Minister expressed his sincere gratitude for the solidarity, cooperation, and support from ASEAN countries, businesses, and international organizations throughout Vietnam’s development journey.