The 4 th East Asian Ministerial Forum on Families (EAMFF) took place in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia from Nov. 8-10 with the participation of over 100 delegates from 14 regional countries.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai led a Vietnamese delegation to the forum.

In opening remarks, Malaysian Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Shahrizat Abdul affirmed that EAMFF represented active contributions to strengthening the family institution in the region in particular and the world in general, laying foundations for addressing several global challenges such as eliminating poverty and improving public health.

The main goal of the forum was to help regional countries share experiences in solving family issues and assisting families that are facing a high risk of breakdown, the minister said.

During its three days of discussions, the forum assessed the real situation and threats of family breakdown and the collapse of traditional family values. The participants agreed that governments should take measures to cope with the fact that connections between family members are becoming looser.

Family is a natural and basic unit of the society which plays an important role in building a strong, harmonious and adaptable society, they said, adding that happy families are the goal of all nations.

In its joint statement, the EAMFF pledged to share experiences in implementing intervention programmes that meet demands of families facing difficulties and high risk of breakdown, as well as strengthening networks and coordination among member countries to raise the capacity of addressing family-related issues.

The EAMFF is an important channel for East Asian countries to share experiences on family issues and put forth ideas for closer cooperation in the region./.