(Photo: VNA)

According to the opening address by Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Le Quan, Vietnam is preparing diligently to become the ASEAN Chair next year, which will be critical for ASEAN as it will conduct a mid-term review of its overall plan on all three pillars:  the Political-Security Community, the Economic Community, and the Socio-Cultural Community. ASEAN agencies will also work out their detailed plans for reaching the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

Deputy Minister Quan said: “Vietnam aims to develop its human resources, focusing on education and healthcare services, and preventing fake news. 2020 will be a critical year for ASEAN.

"The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, as a coordinator of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, will work closely with the ASEAN Secretariat to design a detailed action plan for next year. We hope to have close cooperation from other ministries and agencies in this mission.”

Participants agreed to emphasize personnel development given that they would be challenged by rapid developments of the labor market under influences of Industry 4.0. Laborers will need to be equipped with proper skills to work in the digital era and have a knowledge of the economy, in order to deal with the difficulties caused by an aging population.  

The conference was attended by ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi.