ASCC senior officials discuss activities for post-pandemic recovery

At the 36th ASEAN Summit (Illustrative photo: VNA)

Hanoi - The 29th Meeting of the Senior Officials’ Committee for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (SOCA) was held virtually on November 5 under the chair of the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

The meeting was attended by the ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General in charge of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat, and heads of member countries’ SOCA delegations.

Speaking at the event, deputy head of the MoLISA’s International Cooperation Department Ha Thi Minh Duc said that 2020 is a year with many challenges and opportunities. The ASEAN Community in general and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) in particular have been proactively adapting to the changes, regularly exchanging views and working together to achieve the priorities set out at the beginning of the year in such areas as labour and human resources development, social welfare and development, health, communications and information, ASEAN culture, perception and identity, the environment and climate change, and the mid-term review of the implementation of the ASCC Blueprint.

Emphasising that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all member countries and the entire region, she said that this year, tasks in all socio-cultural fields are becoming more important. As a pillar in charge of many fields, the ASCC has been offering initiatives and implementing many practical activities for COVID-19 prevention and control as well as post-pandemic recovery.

At the meeting, heads of the SOCA delegations of ASEAN member countries focused on assessing the implementation of the ASCC’s priorities in 2020; reviewing the outcomes of the 3rd Working Group Meeting on preventive culture with strategic priority areas. They also discussed important issues raised from the 28th SOCA and agreed on the documents and statements of the Community to submit to the 24th ASCC Conference and then the 37th ASEAN Summit.

The Vietnamese delegation, as the host country, updated the progress and results of the implementation of its priorities in the ASCC. The country has carried out activities as planned, ensuring all outcomes with high support and consensus from ASEAN member countries, as well as support from the ASEAN Secretariat.

The SOCA is held twice a year to prepare the Community's documents to submit to the ASCC Conference.

The Socio-Cultural Community is one of the three pillars of the ASEAN Community, together with the Political-Security Community and the Economic Community.