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ASEAN officials gather at Socio-Cultural Community Council meeting

The 24th meeting of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council, the most important event of the ASCC this year, was held online on November 6 with the participation of 10 member countries’ officials, the ASEAN Secretary-General, and the bloc’s Secretariat.
ASEAN officials gather at Socio-Cultural Community Council meeting ảnh 1Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung speaks at the 24th meeting of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council in Hanoi on November 6 (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The 24th meeting of the ASEANSocio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council, the most important event of the ASCCthis year, was held online on November 6 with the participation of 10 membercountries’ officials, the ASEAN Secretary-General, and the bloc’s Secretariat.

Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalids andSocial Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung, who chairs the ASCC Council in 2020, noted thatCOVID-19 is an unprecedented pandemic that has seriously affected people’shealth and healthcare systems and caused substantial impacts on socio-economicaspects of all countries around the world, including in ASEAN.

Challenges posed by this outbreak requirecountries’ governments respond to emergencies to protect people’s lives,stabilise economies, and ensure social security, according to him.

Dung said regarding ASCC activities during itsASEAN Chairmanship in 2020, Vietnam has proposed initiatives and prioritiesrelevant to the development of human resources, enhancement of social work,information and communications, settlement of fake news, COVID-19 response, andpost-pandemic recovery.

At the session, participants carried outmid-term review of the implementation of the ASCC Blueprint 2025 so as toidentify achievements, challenges, lessons, and solutions to improve theeffectiveness of regional cooperation in related fields.

They shared viewpoints on areas needing moreattention and promotion in the ASCC as well as anti-COVID-19 efforts, includingthe ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF) and the post-COVID-19recovery plan of the ASEAN Community. They pledged to boost support for theACRF implementation and work out a united strategy for sustainable recoveryfrom the pandemic.

Concluding the meeting, the ministers issued ajoint statement and reached consensus on 12 documents and declarations,including two to be submitted to the 37th ASEAN Summit for approval next week,namely the Hanoi declaration on promoting social work towards a cohesive andresponsive ASEAN Community, and the Narrative of ASEAN Identity.

Meetings of the ASCC Council are biannual eventsof ministers in charge of relevant areas in the ASCC. They take place rightbefore ASEAN summits to review the implementation of activities and prepare theASCC’s documents on related cooperation areas for submission to ASEAN summitsfor approval./.
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