Vietnam will continue to carry out its obligations fully and responsibly to contribute to the development of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) in particular and the ASEAN Community in general.

The statement was made by Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Hong Lan at the 14th meeting of the ASCC Council held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 7.

Along with joining in building the region’s orientation documents, Vietnam is actively implementing regional initiatives and the blueprint on the ASCC while integrating the region’s priorities and orientations in its national programmes and projects, Lan said.

Delegates in a joint photo at the meeting

The deputy minister reported that on September 21, the country launched the ASEAN-Vietnam portal, which is expected to serve as a bridge to bring ASEAN to Vietnam and vice versa, helping intensify post-2015 communications on the value and benefits of the ASEAN Community – including the ASCC – to the public.

At the meeting, participating ministers discussed and approved important priority documents of the ASCC regarding environmental protection, climate change and disaster response, social welfare, eliminating violence against women and children and food safety.

They also deliberated several other issues, such as clarifying the functions and tasks of the ASCC and the role of the ASCC Senior Officials Coordinating Conference Meeting (SOC-COM), welcoming an idea to send ASCC officials to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) to intensify the community’s operations.

Concluding the event, the delegates adopted the ASCC Master Plan 2025 with the commitment to raising the quality of life in the region through people-centred cooperation activities.

Source: VNA