Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on November 13 left Hanoi for the 33rd ASEAN Summit 2018 held in Singapore which will engross the bloc members to trade, investment, and measures prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0). 
Leaders at the 32 ASEAN Summit. Photo: Internet
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The event – the final milestone of Singapore’s chairmanship of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2018 – is expected to adopt the ASEAN Smart Cities Framework and take stock of the ASEAN’s achievements this year in strengthening ASEAN’s resilience and innovation.
ASEAN’s leaders will also discuss how to take ASEAN forward at a time of geopolitical and economic change and they will exchange views on regional and international issues with their counterparts at the 21st ASEAN Plus Three Summit and 13th East Asia Summit.
In July 1995, Vietnam joined the ASEAN, which was set up in 1967. Since then, the country has significantly contributed to the bloc’s development regardless of politics, security, economics and culture.
Vietnam assumed the chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2010 and will return to the chair in 2020.
Vietnam actively contributed to the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.
At present, the ASEAN becomes Vietnam’s 2nd largest trade partner with the average growth rate of 14.5% over the past decade. The two-way trade rose to US$41.3 billion in 2016 from US$19 billion in 2006.
The bloc ranks third among Vietnam’s goods suppliers and is the country’s third biggest supplier of foreign direct investment (FDI) with total registered capital of US$64 billion.
