Vietnam will host and chair two ASEAN science and technology meetings this month, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The ministry announced in Hanoi on Nov. 16 that the 14 th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology (AMMST-14) and the 62 nd meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology (COST-62) will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from Nov. 21-26.

As Chair of ASEAN COST in the 2011-2012 term, Vietnam will continue to boost its scientific and technological cooperation with other ASEAN member countries.

The two events will discuss measures to further strengthen scientific and technological cooperation in the region toward the building of an ASEAN Community by 2015.

The meetings will also discuss the implementation of scientific and technological cooperation programmes from 2010 and the ASEAN Plan of Action on Science and Technology (APAST) in the 2012-2017 period.

Food security till 2013, the ASEAN early warning system for natural disasters, biofuel, the application and development of open resources and climate change will be on agenda.

The organisation of International Techmart 2012, scheduled to be held in Hanoi in the third quarter of 2012, will also be introduced at the meetings./.