国际英语新闻:Vietnam to chair virtual 53rd ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting

HANOI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The 53rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings will take place from Wednesday to Saturday via video conference under the chair of Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, a Vietnamese official said Monday.

Some 20 meetings will be organized within the framework of the event, including the China-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting, the 21st ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the 27th ASEAN Regional Forum, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung said at a press briefing, adding that about 40 documents are expected to be noted, issued and adopted.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is scheduled to attend and deliver remarks at the opening ceremony of the event on Wednesday, Dung said.

The meetings are expected to discuss issues including ASEAN cooperation and community building, in particular implementation of priorities and initiatives for 2020, COVID-19 response cooperation, review of and future directions for the ASEAN's external relations, as well as regional and global issues of mutual concerns, said Dung.

A draft statement on economic and financial measures responding to emergency situations in the coming time will also be submitted to the ASEAN Plus Three foreign ministers, he said.

Founded in 1967, the ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Vietnam is the ASEAN chair for 2020.