ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh held a meeting with the delegation of the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists (CAJ) led by its president, Benny Antiporda, in Indonesia on March 3 to discuss the role of journalism in the region.

Meeting participants also included CAJ Deputy Secretary General Edi Utama and Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Journalists Association (VJA) Ha Minh Hue.

During the event, Antiporda updated the ASEAN Secretary General on CAJ professional activities and organisational structure in recent years.

Journalism in the region has developed in various forms and styles, actively contributing to the development of the bloc, he noted.

Meanwhile, Ha Minh Hue said that journalism performs not only the social function of reporting the news but also acts as a vital bridge between member states to further develop relations and mutual understanding regionally and globally.

For his part, Le Luong Minh hailed the significance of ASEAN journalism as well as the active role of CAJ in recent years.

He also urged regional journalists to continue covering the ASEAN development and the opportunities and challenges presented by the establishment of the ASEAN Community this year in order to raise local awareness of the upcoming event and encourage a united, developing and prosperous Community.

The VJA will host the 18th CAJ General Assembly in November and assume the CAJ Presidency for the next two years. On the occasion, the confederation will also celebrate the 40th founding anniversary.

Founded in 1975, the CAJ is comprised of the journalist associations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. The VJA has been a member of the confederation since July, 1995.-VNA