The 32nd summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations officially opens in Singapore on April 28. (Photo: VNA)

During the retreat meeting held later, leaders of the ASEAN member states again laid stress on the importance of solidarity and unity to the bloc, asserting that a resilient ASEAN is key to help the association maintain its central role in the region and develop balanced win-win relations with its partners. Addressing the summit, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc shared the view that ASEAN needs to maintain its central role in the region through strengthening the bloc’s collective resilience, solidarity and unity. The bloc should bring into play its role as the locomotive in bolstering economic linkage in the region, he said. He joined ASEAN leaders in welcoming the positive outcomes of the inter-Korea summit on April 27, hailing it as a new important step forward in the process of denuclearization in the Korean peninsula. Regarding the East Sea issue, the Vietnamese Government leader said that the bloc must continue upholding basic principles and maintain its agreed stance, while making efforts to push the building of an effective and legally-binding COC for sustainable peace and stability in the East Sea.