The 20th SEAN Economic Community Council (AECC) Meeting took place online on the morning of October 18, 2021, at the Headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, under the chairmanship of the 2nd Minister of Finance and Economy Brunei Darussalam, His Excellency Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, with the participation of Economic Ministers of ASEAN member countries and ASEAN Secretary General Lim-Jock-Hoi to prepare for the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits scheduled.

Representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, and Ministry of Information and Communications attended the conference.

At the Conference, as the agency in charge of developing and implementing the Master Plan to build the ASEAN Economic Community through 2025, the following five objectives were identified: (i) turning ASEAN into a highly integrated and cohesive economy; (ii) an ASEAN that is competitive, innovative, and dynamic; (iii) improving connection and specialized cooperation; (iv) an ASEAN that is resilient, inclusive, people-oriented, and people-centered; (v) a global ASEAN, the ASEAN Economic Community Council spent a significant amount of time discussing the Midterm Review Report implementation of the Master Plan as well as recommendations set forth in the Report in order to ensure the achievement of the Master Plan's objectives in the period 2021-2025.

The meeting also discussed the preparation work for developing the ASEAN Vision for the period after 2025, regional and global trends, and agreed to continue to strengthen inter-sectoral and inter-pillar coordination and with all members of the ASEAN Economic Community in formulating the ASEAN Vision beyond 2025 in order to ensure inclusiveness and bring the most practical benefits to ASEAN countries, towards the goal of building a strong ASEAN Community, as well as strenuous efforts to build a strong ASEAN Community.

The conference also reviewed the implementation of Brunei's priority economic cooperation initiatives, the ASEAN Chair in 2021, discussed preparations for the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits, and heard from Cambodia, the ASEAN Chair in 2022, Preliminary presentation of orientation for building priority economic cooperation initiatives for 2022.

Vietnam actively contributed ideas on the orientation to complete the Master Plan for building the ASEAN Economic Community 2021-2025, as well as building the ASEAN Vision after 2025, during the Conference discussion.

Based on the outcomes of the discussions, the Conference approved a number of documents to be presented to the Leaders at the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits, including the Bandar Seri Begaon Roadmap on ASEAN Digital Transformation to Accelerate ASEAN Economic Recovery and Digital Economic Integration, the framework for the development of the ASEAN Economic Community's circular economy, and the ASEAN cooperation framework for strengthening policies on micro, small, and medium enterprises.