Laos’ Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Suanesavanh Vignaket (sixth left), and delegates from other Asean member countries and Timor-Leste gather for the 32nd Asean Socio-Cultural Community Council Meeting in Vientiane on Thursday (Sept 26). - Photo: Vientiane Times/ANN
VIENTIANE: The 32nd Asean Socio-Cultural Community Council Meeting and related meetings got underway in Vientiane on Thursday (Sept 26), in preparation for the Asean Summits taking place next month.
The meeting is co-chaired by Laos’ Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Suanesavanh Vignaket, and attended by ministers from the Asean Socio-Cultural Community Council and Timor-Leste, the Deputy Secretary General of Asean for Asean Socio-Cultural Community, Ekkaphab Phanthavong, and other delegates from Asean member countries and Timor-Leste.
Participants will discuss the adoption of important documents and a report from the ministerial meeting of the Asean Socio-Cultural Community to be presented to Asean leaders for consideration at the 44th and 45th Asean Summits next month.
“I believe these documents will form important legislation for implementation in every sector under the Asean Socio-Cultural pillar and chart a path to development,” Suanesavanh said.
The aim of the Asean Socio-Cultural Community Council is to ensure that people enjoy a good standard of living and sustainable development, learn about the diverse cultures within Asean through broad publicity, and have access to education and healthcare.
Other goals are to ensure sustainable environmental conditions, improve the quality of the workforce, promote gender equality, and open up more job opportunities for young people, the disadvantaged and the disabled, Suanesavanh said.
As Laos has chosen the theme “Asean: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience” for its chairmanship of the regional bloc this year, in addition to the main goal of promoting Asean cooperation in connectivity and building strength, there is also an emphasis on economic integration and people-to-people links throughout the region, she added.
Continuing cooperation with Asean’s external partners will help make the bloc even stronger, build the centrality of Asean within the region, and enable stronger development of Asean so that more progress is achieved and the region becomes more dynamic and influential, Suanesavanh said.
However, there are many obstacles on the path to progress, she observed, especially at present in the wake of Typhoon Yagi and other extreme weather events, which have caused extensive damage as well as loss of life.
“On behalf of the Lao government, I would like to express my condolences to Asean member countries, especially to all those who have been affected by the devastation wrought by the typhoon this month,” Suanesavanh said. - Vientiane Times/ANN
