Hanoi (VNA) –The first teleconference of the 𓄧ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group onPublic Health Emergencies was held 🅰on March 31 under the chair of DeputyForeign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, head of the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting(SOM) Vietnam.

The group was set up upon a proposal by Vietnam, the ASEAN Chair 2020, with a view to promoting cooperation inthe ASEAN Community to cope with the complicated developments of the COVID-19. Participants sharedinformation about the situation in ASEAN member states as well as theimplementation of measures in each country since the outbreak of the pandemic. They agreed to recommendthe ASEAN Coordinating Council at the foreign ministerial level adopt specificactions to mobilise the overall strength of the ASEAN Community to curbing thespread of the pandemic and mitigating its impact on the socio-economic life of the member countries. ASEAN countries agreedto step up information and experience exchanges in the bloc and increasecooperation with partners in preventing infections and providing treatment forCOVID-19 cases. They also pledged to worktogether to ensure safety for medical workers who are on the front line in thebattle, while maintaining the supply of essential goods for the people andpreventing fake news. ASEAN will alsointensify coordination to implement policies and measures assisting businesses,especially micro, small and medium enterprises, and vulnerable groups in thesociety. Member states pledgedto maintain the opening of market, facilitate goods and trade exchanges, andensure social welfares for the people. A teleconference of theASEAN Senior Officals’ Meeting on preventing and combating COVID-19 isscheduled for early April this year. Founded in 1967, theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups 10 member countries,namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./.