Vietnam postponed ASEAN summit

Vietnam decided to postpone the 36th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), scheduled for April 8-9, due to coronavirus. This is stated in a common communiqué of the Foreign Ministry of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Vietnam postponed ASEAN summit
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, fifth left, poses for a group photo with leader of ASEAN from left; Malaysia Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesia President Joko Widodo, and Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith during ASEAN-Japan summit in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Monday, Nov. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

The summit was postponed to the end of June in connection with fears arising from the spread of coronavirus, according to a statement by the Vietnam Foreign Ministry.

The Foreign Ministry also said that the head of the Vietnamese government, Nguyen Suan Fook, had already informed about the postponement of the summit and the accompanying conferences of the leaders of the countries participating in the Association.