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Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and heads of delegations at the opening ceremony of the fourth ASCC meeting held yesterday in Da Nang City. — VNA/VNS Photo Duc Tam |
HA NOI — ASEAN countries are committed to human development, increasing social welfare and environmental sustainability, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said yesterday.
He was speaking at the opening of the fourth ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC 4) in Da Nang, which was attended by ASEAN ministers that head the ASEAN Socio - Cultural Community.
Dung said the aim was to establish an ASEAN community with harmonised politics, economies and social responsibilities by 2015.
This meant member countries had to focus on cultural and social co-operation as well as politics and other matters.
The Prime Minister said the socio-cultural community had already made positive contributions to ASEAN.
This included the building of a road map to handle health, education and environmental problems and to cope with global challenges, such as the economic crisis, climate change and natural disasters.
Dung said it was also necessary to motivate and manage resources from ASEAN countries and its partners, adding that this meant paying more attention to the private sector.
The Minister of Labours, Invalids and Social Affairs, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who chaired the meeting, said that as the host country Viet Nam expected the meeting would host active participation and information sharing among ASEAN members. The meeting aimed to allow attendees to share experiences about activities surrounding the implementation of projects within the Community. The group also hopes to approve the Community's agenda soon.
The meeting ratified two draft documents: the statement on the development of human resources for economic recovery and growth, and the Ha Noi Report on the enhancement of social welfare for women and children. The two documents will be submitted for approval to the 17th ASEAN Summit in October.
The ASEAN Socio - Cultural Community meeting is organised twice a year to review the implementation of the ASEAN Socio - Cultural Community's master plan and to report to the senior leaders about the progress of building the ASEAN Community by 2015. The first two meetings were organised last year in Thailand.
The meeting ended in Da Nang yesterday. — VNS
