Jakarta. Vietnam's ruling Communist Party head To Lam called on ASEAN to become a global production hub during his visit to the bloc's headquarters in Jakarta on Monday.

The party's general secretary is currently in Indonesia for a three-day visit that includes bilateral talks with President Prabowo Subianto. Lam stopped by the ASEAN Secretariat first before meeting the Indonesian leader later that day.

Speaking in front of ASEAN diplomats, To Lam delivered a policy speech that listed on what the 10-member grouping should do in the coming years to "elevate its prestige" on the international stage. The proposed to-do list includes taking advantage of ASEAN's strengths to produce goods and services on a global scale.

"[We should] strengthen economic resilience, harness, and capitalize on ASEAN's strength of being a vast and highly promising space for economic development," To Lam said.

"[So we can] rise along the global supply chain and become a strategic production hub for the world," he added.

Hanoi then nudged the Southeast Asian club into pioneering new growth engines in renewable energy, science, and technology, among others. Lam went on to say that ASEAN should develop a highly skilled workforce in his speech which also pointed out the aging population as one of the region's non-traditional security threats.

"Equally important is striking a balance between robust economic growth and green, inclusive, and sustainable progress. ASEAN needs to become a center of technological breakthroughs where scientific discoveries are seamlessly converted into practical, impactful applications for socio-economic advancement," the party chief said.

Lam claimed that ASEAN was "on track" to be the world's fourth-largest economy by 2030. The ASEAN digital economy is also expected to top $1 trillion by the same year, according to the Vietnamese politician. Despite his statement, he did not mention the digital economy framework that ASEAN was currently working on, which could double the numbers to $2 trillion, early estimates showed.

After being part of ASEAN for three decades, Vietnam has struck some trade deals with its foreign partners. This includes the world's largest trade deal Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which accounts for nearly 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). The RCEP represents a combined GDP of $29 trillion with major economies such as China and Australia being part of the trading bloc. All 10 ASEAN members are signatories to the RCEP.

ASEAN reported that its foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows had hit $234 billion in 2023, up by 2.1 percent compared to the previous year. Its total trade in goods amounted to $3.5 trillion in 2023 with electronics and mineral fuels becoming the most traded commodities. ASEAN's overall exports totaled $1.8 billion over the same period.

At home, Vietnam is eyeing to log an 8 percent annual economic growth in 2025 with a goal to become a high-income country by 2045. This is a similar target to what Prabowo has set, although the ex-defense minister wants to achieve 8 percent growth within his current presidential term which is expected to end in 2029. Indonesia, too, aims to achieve a high-income status by its centennial in 2045.

Vietnam is a one-party state. The country considers the communist party's general secretary as its highest-ranking political leader.

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