The ASEAN Future Forum 2026 (AFF) officially opened on the morning of June 9 under the theme "Shaping Our Shared Future Together: Peace, Prosperity and People-Centered Development."

Attending the forum were Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn. The event also brought together international partners, representatives of global organizations, and scholars from across the region and beyond.

The unique value of the ASEAN Future Forum

In his opening remarks, Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung said the presence of ASEAN leaders, the ASEAN Secretary-General, representatives of international organizations, academics, businesses and local authorities reflected growing interest in ASEAN's future and a shared commitment to shaping the region's next phase of development.

The ASEAN Future Forum was initiated by Vietnam with the goal of creating "an open, substantive and forward-looking dialogue space," bringing together policymakers, researchers, businesses and regional and international partners to exchange ideas, share initiatives and contribute to the ASEAN Community-building process.

The strong support received from ASEAN member states and international partners since the forum's earliest editions demonstrates an increasing demand for a multidimensional platform capable of connecting strategic ideas with ASEAN policymaking.

Addressing the regional and global context, Minister Le Hoai Trung noted that the world is experiencing profound transformations. Intensifying strategic competition, polarization, mistrust and instability are becoming increasingly complex, generating a range of new transnational challenges.

He expressed hope that the forum would "create more opportunities for diplomacy, dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation," allowing it to become a practical support channel for ASEAN Community-building efforts.

According to the minister, the forum's distinctive feature lies in its openness and inclusiveness. It extends beyond discussions among government leaders to include political parties, local authorities, research institutions, businesses and social organizations.

Reaffirming the vision of a "united, resilient, dynamic, innovative and people-centered ASEAN," Le Hoai Trung said the association's strength would continue to be built upon the collective efforts of its member states, reinforcing ASEAN's central role and standing in the evolving regional architecture.

AFF 2026 aims to promote the development of a stronger and more sustainable ASEAN Community while generating ideas for the association's future.

Three strategic ambitions

In his keynote address, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung stressed that AFF carries special significance because its theme reflects the core values ASEAN is pursuing and the direction it seeks for the years ahead.

"I would like to begin with a familiar question about the future. In a world undergoing profound change, the question before us today is not only how ASEAN will adapt, but how ASEAN will shape its own future in the 21st century," the Prime Minister said.

After 59 years of development, ASEAN's greatest achievement is not simply its population of nearly 700 million people or its position as one of the world's most dynamic growth centers. Rather, it is the region's ability to rise above differences, build trust and expand cooperation.

The Prime Minister said that while the past six decades were a journey of building ASEAN's identity, the decades ahead would be a journey of shaping ASEAN's future in a world where the fundamental rules of economics, technology and global power are being rewritten.

Technology is redefining competitiveness.

Artificial intelligence is redefining productivity.

Data is redefining power.

And the green transition is redefining development models.

According to the Prime Minister, at this pivotal moment, advantages will belong not only to nations with abundant resources but also to countries and regions capable of helping shape the new rules and standards of the era. Vietnam believes ASEAN can and must become an active force in that process.

To realize that aspiration, ASEAN must continue to uphold the values that have underpinned its success - solidarity, resilience and unity in diversity - while embracing a more innovative approach: consensus in values but flexibility in action, steadfastness in principles but innovation in methods, preservation of identity while proactively creating opportunities amid a changing era.

As ASEAN advances toward the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, the Prime Minister said the association should pursue three strategic ambitions.

First, ASEAN should not only participate in global trends but also help shape them. The region should become a center of dialogue, a focal point of cooperation and a pillar of trust. This is ASEAN's unique contribution to peace, stability and development in both the region and the wider world.

Second, ASEAN should become not only a manufacturing hub but also a center of innovation.

The region's labor advantages and strategic location have made it an important link in global supply chains. Yet in the digital era, the future belongs not only to economies that manufacture but also to those that innovate.

ASEAN should not merely be a place where technology is consumed. It must become a place where technology is created. It should not only be where supply chains pass through but where value chains are shaped.

Achieving this vision will require stronger investment in science and technology, innovation, the digital economy and high-quality human resources. ASEAN should work toward building a technology and digital ecosystem with a distinct ASEAN identity while contributing actively to the development of global standards.

Third, ASEAN should be not only a community of nations but a genuine community of people.

"The greatest value ASEAN has demonstrated over the past six decades is that differences do not have to lead to division, unity does not eliminate diversity, and integration does not erase identity," Prime Minister Le Minh Hung said.

He stressed that the ultimate goal of any development strategy is not growth figures but the quality of life of the people.

"We believe that innovation which widens inequality cannot be called progress. Growth without inclusion cannot be sustainable. Therefore, a successful ASEAN should not be measured solely by GDP, but by the opportunities it creates for young people, the roles it empowers women to play, the protection it provides vulnerable groups, and the extent to which every citizen feels this is truly a community they belong to," he said.

The Vietnamese leader reaffirmed Vietnam's strong commitment to continuing its partnership with ASEAN through a shared aspiration to shape the future with all its heart and intellect.

"The future of Vietnam is inseparable from the future of ASEAN, just as it is inseparable from the peace, stability and prosperity of the entire region," he said.

Tran Thuong