Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony (Photo: VOV)

The summit, taking place online for the first time, is an opportunity to show solidarity and unity in meeting current regional and global challenges.

Vitezslav Grepl, Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Vietnam, said “I’m sure that the slogan of ASEAN fulfills the best way, especially this year because the countries may not have been successful in the fight and could only follow the lead of Vietnam with very good experience on how to handle the things. Vietnam is ranking first in the world in the success of beating the coronavirus with zero death. It's unprecedented. No country in the world has achieved anything like that. I believe the solidarity will be bigger, even bigger than ever, and the cooperation even more and more intense and successful.”

Vitezslav Grepl is the Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Vietnam (Photo: VOVworld)

Summit delegates said Vietnam can be confident in holding big events because Vietnam is a safe country, widely considered a model for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera, said: “The Prime Minister's speech was very precise. In his speech, he gave the key elements of Vietnam’s Chairmanship of ASEAN which is to make an ASEAN cohesive and active. I think that Vietnam has managed to achieve that in the best way, taking into account the difficult situation of the COVID-19. I take this opportunity to congratulate Vietnam for the way it has coped with COVID-19. Vietnam has been very successful because it has fought CODIV-19 as an enemy and has managed to preserve the health of the people. I think we have to thank Vietnam for that because we are here in safe.”

Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera

Delegates expressed confidence that ASEAN will continue to play a central role in the region. ASEAN is promoting cohesiveness and responsiveness to help members meet challenges in accordance with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s words: “The stalks of paddy rice on the ASEAN logo will grow tighter-knit, and from it more grains of rice will spring forth, filled with the love, care, and solidarity that define the big ASEAN family.”