7^th ASEAN-US Summit

          On 4 November 2019, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Ret.), Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, chaired the 7^th ASEAN-US Summit during the 35^th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits. The Meeting was attended by the Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-US Relations, the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as the incoming Chair of ASEAN, ASEAN Foreign Ministers, and Ambassador Robert O'Brien, Special Envoy of the President of the United States of America.

          The Meeting expressed appreciation for the United States’ contribution to regional development and continued support for ASEAN centrality and ASEAN-led mechanisms, including the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP). The Special Envoy of the President of the United States of America conveyed the US President’s invitation to ASEAN Leaders to attend a Special Summit in the United States in 2020.  

          The Meeting noted the progress in the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-US Strategic Partnership 2016 – 2020 and supported a new plan of action for 2021 – 2025. They welcomed the success of the First Joint ASEAN-US Maritime Exercise (AUMX) held in Thailand in September 2019 and the ASEAN-US Cyber Security Dialogue held in Singapore in October 2019.

          The Meeting noted the importance of upholding an open, transparent, and rules-based multilateral trading system. The Meeting also welcomed the “Blue Dot Network” joint initiative by the United States, Australia and Japan, which is a concept to advance sustainable infrastructure investment. Furthermore, both sides will “connect the connectivities” in the region through the existing frameworks, such as the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC 2025), Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), of which the United States is a Development Partner, and the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), which marks its 10^th anniversary this year.

            On socio-cultural matters, the Meeting discussed cooperation on disaster management, climate change, people-to-people exchange, women and youth empowerment, and cultural linkages.

           The Meeting exchanged views on regional developments, such as the situation in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula. 

          ASEAN and the United States of America became Dialogue Partners in 1977, and elevated their relations to a Strategic Partnership in 2015. Lao PDR is the current Country Coordinator for ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue Relations. 

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