Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Major newspapers of Malaysiaand Laos have published a series of articles on the upcoming 36th ASEAN Summitand other activities hosted by Vietnam as ASEAN Chair 2020.

Malaysian-based New Straits Times said in an article thatafter nearly two months being postponed due to COVID-19, the summit will takeplace virtually on June 26 under the chair of Vietnamese Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc.

It gave information on a host of key activities that will beheld. Accordingly, it said the Vietnamese PM will chair dialogues between ASEANleaders and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), ASEAN youthrepresentatives, and ASEAN Business Advisory Council. He will also preside overthe opening, plenary and special sessions on women's empowerment in the digitalage, the paper added.

Another Malaysian paper, the Malay Mail, in its article,titled “Women key to ASEAN’s COVID-19 response, economic development”, praisedVietnam’s efforts in the regional fight against the pandemic.

It noted as part of its chairmanship, Vietnam envisions a“cohesive and responsive” ASEAN community, saying such theme is an appropriatecall for the bloc in its collective response to the epidemic.

Vietnam wants to focus on solidarity and unity, economicconnectivity, promoting the values and identities of the ASEAN Community as itspriority areas, among others, the newspaper reiterated PM Phuc’s statement atthe turnover ceremony of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in November 2019.

“Solidarity among all member-states and with all ASEAN peopleis the region’s only way out of the pandemic,” it said.

Meanwhile, news on the Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting(IAMM), the 21st ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), and the 26th ASEANCoordinating Council Meeting, which were held online on June 24, came in droveson Lao newspapers the next day. These events were chaired by Vietnamese DeputyPrime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

According to Laos’ media, at the IAMM, regional ministersexchanged views on efforts and measures done as part of cooperation frameworksamong ASEAN member states and between the bloc and its partners to curb thespread of COVID-19.

The meeting also considered some countries’ proposals to join the bloc’s Treatyof Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). Lao press said suchdiscussion demonstrated ASEAN’s leading role in and important contributions toensuring peace, security, and order in the region and in the world.

Lao media said the 26th ASEAN Coordinating Council Meetingacknowledged progresses and praised efforts made by the bloc in building theASEAN Community under Vietnam’s chairmanship this year./.