On the afternoon of October 27, 2020, at the Government's Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, Chairman of the Committee, chaired the 6th session of the ASEAN National Committee 2020 Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Minh, who is also the Chairman of the Committee, said that despite the complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it poses many difficulties and challenges for the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020 role of The country, all related ministries, sectors and sub-committees have made every effort to bring into play the spirit of the theme of ASEAN this year of "cohesion and acumen" to successfully complete the task. “The whole country proactively proposed and implemented measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, flexibly changing the mode of operation, while actively maintaining cooperation initiatives within ASEAN as well as with partners, performing well the role of coordinating and leading the Division, ”the Deputy Prime Minister noted, the focus of this conference is to review the overall tasks and work that have been implemented, especially is the status and progress of the implementation of the contents and initiatives of the ASEAN 2020 presidency and discussions on upcoming work, especially in preparation for the 37th ASEAN Summit and high-level meetings. regards are expected to take place next month. This is the most important meeting of the year and of decisive significance for the overall success of the ASEAN presidency 2020. Report at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs cum Secretary General of the ASEAN National Committee 2020 Nguyen Quoc Dung gave an overview of all the work that the sub-committees and the Secretariat have implemented, especially the adjustment and supplementation within the framework of the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020 under the impact of the current situation. The Deputy Prime Minister asked the sub-committees, ministries and branches to continue to follow the directions, guidelines, assign and complete the remaining tasks according to the proposed plan, striving to fulfill the role of ASEAN Chairman first. upon handing over this responsibility to Brunei. To prepare for the 37th ASEAN Summit and related high-level meetings in November, Mr. Minh told the ASEAN Sub-Committees and Secretariat 2020 and related ministries and agencies to urgently implement the the preparation, formulation and programs to ensure the requirements of the meetings

The year 2020 has many implications for ASEAN in general and for Vietnam in particular. For ASEAN is an important pivotal year for mid-term review of the implementation of the ASEAN Community Building Master Plan 2015-2025. For Vietnam, this is a milestone marking 25 years of Vietnam accompanying ASEAN. Vietnam also assumed the role of a non-permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations for the term 2020-2021. Accordingly, Vietnam will give the highest determination and priority to successfully implement this responsibility and contribute to building an increasingly closely linked and strong ASEAN Community on the basis of inheriting the achieved results from previous ASEAN presidents and promoting certain experiences in socio-economic development, organizing major conferences such as ASEAN 1998 and 2010, APEC 2017 .

Dr. Vijay Sakhuja pointed out that the year 2020 ASEAN Chairmen of Vietnam with the theme "Connecting and proactively adapting" took place with many intertwined opportunities and challenges. Vietnam has exercised this responsibility amid challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and the tense situation in the South China Sea. First, at the United Nations (UN), Vietnam began 2020 as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the term 2020-2021 with the theme “Vietnam: A trusted partner for stable peace.

In ASEAN, Vietnam has led and implemented all ASEAN events including the Summit, the Open ASEAN Dialogue and other commitments under the “ASEAN Agenda” with delays and cancellations. COVID-19 is very limited. Most of the above activities are organized on a digital platform in the form of online, "proof that we can completely do it without having to meet face-to-face". Within ASEAN, regarding politics-diplomacy-economic-defense issues, non-traditional-legal-development security ..., commitments have been skillfully implemented.

Vietnam has contributed to bringing the South China Sea issue to the UN. In the speech of the General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong at the High-Level Discussion Session of the General Meeting of the United Nations, Vietnam pledged to "maintain and promote peace, stability, security and safety. sea ​​in the South China Sea ” complying with international law, especially UNCLOS 1982; emphasizes and urges "all involved parties to refrain, avoid unilateral actions that complicate the situation, resolve disputes through peaceful means, adhere to diplomatic and legal processes"