Lam Dong (VNA) –The Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), in itsrole as Chair of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community 2020, is chairing the Senior Officials' Meeting for the ASEAN Socio-CulturalCommunity (SOCA) in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong from February24-25.

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

Speaking atthe event, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Kung Phoak said since the grouping’sfoundation, stable strides have been made in regional integration, economicgrowth, common prosperity and social progress. Meanwhile, efforts to build the ASEANCommunity keep yielding fruits.

Participantsdiscussed indexes and roadmap for the mid-term report on the ASEANSocio-Cultural Community Blueprint, thus conducting national- andregional-level reviews 2020 to lay foundation for the implementation of theblueprint for the 2021-2025 period.

Head of SOCAVietnam delegation and deputy head of the MoLISA’s Department of InternationalCooperation Ha Thi Minh Duc said 2020 marks the 25th year ofVietnam’s ASEAN membership.

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

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