The Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), in its role as Chair of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community 2020, is chairing the Senior Officials' Meeting for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (SOCA) in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong from February 24-25.

At the event (Photo: VNA) 

The meeting aims to conduct the mid-term review of the implementation of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint and SOCA Retreat, attracting nearly 60 senior officials and cadres in charge of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community from 10 ASEAN member states, ASEAN Secretariat and Vietnamese ministries.

Speaking at the event, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Kung Phoak said since the grouping’s foundation, stable strides have been made in regional integration, economic growth, common prosperity and social progress. Meanwhile, efforts to build the ASEAN Community keep yielding fruits.

Participants discussed indexes and roadmap for the mid-term report on the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint, thus conducting national- and regional-level reviews 2020 to lay foundation for the implementation of the blueprint for the 2021-2025 period.

Head of SOCA Vietnam delegation and deputy head of the MoLISA’s Department of International Cooperation Ha Thi Minh Duc said 2020 marks the 25th year of Vietnam’s ASEAN membership.

Given the theme of “Cohesive and Responsive” chosen by Vietnam for ASEAN Year 2020, ASEAN and its Socio-Cultural Community will continue improving people’s lives and building a better future for partners, she said.

The outcomes of the meeting will be reported to the 28th SOCA and the 23rd ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council Meeting scheduled for April 5-8 in the central city of Da Nang, ahead of the 36th ASEAN Summit.