A bridge connecting governments, experts, and businesses to shape ASEAN's future
In a world where geopolitical currents shift faster than institutions can adapt, Vietnam has quietly assumed the role of regional architect — hosting the ASEAN Future Forum for a third consecutive year and giving Southeast Asia's ten nations a shared space to think beyond the immediate crisis. Laos's Deputy Foreign Minister, speaking from Vientiane ahead of the June 9–10 gathering in Hà Nội, offered his country's endorsement not merely as diplomatic courtesy but as a recognition that Vietnam's sustained commitment is shaping the long arc of ASEAN's collective identity. The forum's 2026 theme — peace, prosperity, and people-centered development — reflects a region that knows the storms gathering on the horizon and is choosing, deliberately, to face them together.
- With geopolitical and geo-economic tensions intensifying across multiple fronts, ASEAN faces the rare and uncomfortable pressure of needing to act strategically at precisely the moment when consensus is hardest to achieve.
- Vietnam's decision to launch and sustain the ASEAN Future Forum since 2024 has created an unexpected center of gravity — a recurring mechanism that pulls governments, experts, businesses, and civil society into the same room year after year.
- Laos's Prime Minister has attended two of the three editions, a quiet but deliberate signal that smaller member states see the forum not as Vietnam's showcase but as the bloc's shared instrument.
- Ideas surfaced in the 2024 and 2025 forums are already being woven into the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, meaning the conversation is no longer abstract — it is becoming policy with a twenty-year horizon.
- As the third forum prepares to open in Hà Nội on June 9, the question shifts from whether Vietnam can lead to whether ASEAN as a whole can translate shared vision into durable, people-centered action.
Phongsavan Sisoulat, Laos's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke to reporters in Vientiane just days before the third ASEAN Future Forum was set to open in Hà Nội. His message carried weight: Vietnam had become something the region genuinely needed. By launching the forum in 2024 and hosting it every year since, Vietnam had demonstrated a consistency that went beyond diplomatic routine — it had created a standing institution where none had existed before.
Laos's Prime Minister had attended two of the three editions, a detail Sisoulat mentioned with purpose. That repeated presence signaled that Laos regarded the forum as central to ASEAN's real work, not peripheral to it. It also reflected a broader sense of shared responsibility among member states for the bloc's collective direction.
This year's theme — 'Shaping a Shared Future: Peace, Prosperity and People-Centred Development' — was chosen with the moment in mind. Geopolitical competition is intensifying. Climate change is accelerating. Technology is outpacing the policies meant to govern it. Transnational crime persists across borders. Vietnam had recognized that ASEAN needed not just summits but a dedicated space for deeper, forward-looking thinking.
Sisoulat described the forum as a bridge — connecting governments with research institutes, businesses, and civil society in ways that produce practical, modern policy. Crucially, the ideas raised in the first two editions were already being incorporated into the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, the strategic framework meant to guide the association through the next two decades. The forum was no longer just a conversation; it was becoming architecture.
In praising Vietnam's role, Sisoulat pointed to something larger than any single host country's achievement. He expressed confidence that Vietnam's contributions, alongside those of other member states, would help ASEAN grow into a community capable of holding its own on the global stage — unified, resilient, and increasingly prepared for challenges that have not yet fully arrived.
Phongsavan Sisoulat, Laos's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, sat down with reporters in Vientiane just before the third ASEAN Future Forum was set to convene in Hà Nội on June 9 and 10. His message was clear: Việt Nam had become indispensable to the region's future. He credited the country with launching the forum in 2024 and hosting it successfully every year since—a sustained commitment that reflected something deeper than diplomatic courtesy.
Laos's Prime Minister had attended two of the three editions, Sisoulat noted. That attendance mattered. It signaled that Laos took the forum seriously, that it saw the gathering as central to the bloc's work. But more than that, it demonstrated Laos's sense of responsibility toward ASEAN's shared trajectory. The forum itself had become a mechanism for the ten-member association to think collectively about where it was heading.
Each year brought a different theme, but all were calibrated to a world that was shifting rapidly and unpredictably. This year's title—"Shaping a Shared Future: Peace, Prosperity and People-Centred Development"—showed Việt Nam's sensitivity to the moment. Geopolitical and geo-economic tensions were intensifying across multiple regions. Transnational crime persisted. Climate change accelerated. Technology advanced faster than policy could follow. ASEAN needed a place to think through these challenges together, and Việt Nam had created one.
Sisoulat described the forum as something more than a talking shop. It was a bridge connecting governments, research institutes, experts, businesses, and other stakeholders. It allowed the bloc to shape its policies in ways that were comprehensive, modern, and practical—ultimately delivering tangible benefits to ASEAN's people. The ideas and proposals raised in 2024 and 2025 had already become inputs for the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, the strategic documents that would guide the association's work for the next two decades. Those ideas were now being translated into action, focused on reinforcing ASEAN's leadership and centrality, driving economic growth, digital transformation, green growth, and crisis resilience.
What made Việt Nam's role particularly significant was the context in which it operated. The region faced traditional and non-traditional challenges simultaneously. Geopolitical and geo-economic competition was intensifying. In this landscape, Việt Nam had increasingly taken a key role in driving strategic consultations about ASEAN's future direction. The forum itself was not just a platform for debating current crises—it was a mechanism for anticipating and preparing for challenges that had not yet arrived.
Sisoulat expressed confidence that Việt Nam's contributions, combined with the efforts of other member states, would help ASEAN grow into a stronger community, one that played an increasingly important role on both the global and regional stage. He praised Việt Nam's work in promoting cooperation, strengthening ASEAN's unity, and reinforcing shared responsibility among the ten nations. The third forum, set to begin in two days, would test whether that vision could hold.
Notable Quotes
The forum is not only a platform to debate current challenges but also anticipate and prepare for future ones that could hit the region— Phongsavan Sisoulat, Lao Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
With Việt Nam's important contributions and constructive initiatives, together with other member states, ASEAN will continue to grow into a strong community that plays an increasingly important role on the global and regional stage— Phongsavan Sisoulat
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Laos's Prime Minister attending this forum matter so much? It seems like a routine diplomatic event.
It's not routine because ASEAN doesn't work that way. These countries don't have a central authority. Attendance at something like this signals priority—it says this matters to us, this is where we're investing our attention. When Laos's PM shows up twice, it's saying we're serious about this partnership and this vision.
But what actually happens at the forum? What's the concrete output?
The ideas discussed in 2024 and 2025 are now being written into ASEAN Community Vision 2045. So it's not just talk. The forum generates proposals that become policy documents, that shape how the ten countries will cooperate for the next two decades.
Why is Việt Nam the one hosting this every year? Why not rotate it?
Because Việt Nam initiated it. It's their platform, their way of keeping ASEAN focused on long-term thinking rather than just reacting to crises. In a region where geopolitical tensions are rising, having a dedicated space to think strategically gives smaller countries a voice.
What's the real concern underneath all this talk about centrality and unity?
That ASEAN could fracture. Bigger powers are competing for influence. Climate change, technology, economic disruption—these don't respect borders. If the ten countries don't stay coordinated, they become easier to divide. The forum is Việt Nam's way of saying: let's stay together, let's think ahead, let's not let external pressures pull us apart.
Does Laos actually have influence in these discussions, or is it just showing up?
Laos is one of the poorest countries in ASEAN, so its formal power is limited. But ASEAN operates on consensus. That means even Laos has a voice. By attending and endorsing the forum, Laos is saying it sees value in this mechanism for shaping the region's future.