Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) held a national conference in Ho Chi Minh City on September 28 to discuss the implementation of a project on building and implementing an action plan to realise goals of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) until 2025 (Project 161), in both in-person and online format.
The annual event brought together the ASEAN Secretariat in Indonesia, the MoLISA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Government Office, and various ministries and agencies within the ASCC in Vietnam, along with leaders from southern cities and provinces.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha said during 2021-2022, the MoLISA worked closely with ministries, agencies and localities to complete the action plan to carry out the Project 161, with the majority of the goals outlined in the ASCC being incorporated in the five-year and ten-year development plans of each ministry, sector, and locality.
However, the implementation is yet to meet schedule during 2021-2023 due to COVID-19, the lack of resources and knowledge about ASEAN and integration, she admitted.
She said the event should share knowledge about integration issues in general and integration in specific interdisciplinary fields such as labour, social affairs, environment, the connection between economic integration and social issues in the new context and the linkages between national, regional, and global integration, so as to raise awareness of officials at the central and local levels.
From Jakarta, Benjamin Loh of the ASEAN Secretariat shared insights online about ASEAN and the priorities of the ASCC for 2021-2025. During his presentation, he highlighted the implementation of the ASCC 2025 Master Plan, preparation of documents on ASCC's post-2025 orientations, and the priorities and documents of the ASCC during Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2023.
Delegates at the event agreed with a proposal to prioritise the allocation of resources, human capital, and financial support towards enhancing communication efforts about the Project 161 and general ASEAN cooperation during the upcoming implementation.
They also learned about the status of ASEAN cooperation in each specialised field and the emerging issues related to national priorities./.
