HANOI, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries together with representatives from China, Japan and South Korea gathered here Friday at the 7th ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting on Social Welfares and Development (SOMSWD) plus Three meeting to discuss the issue of social welfares for disadvantaged people.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLISA) Nguyen Trong Dam said that disadvantaged people are among the most vulnerable group to economic crisis and natural disasters.
The support of regional countries is necessary to further boost social security and welfares for those people, Dam said.
In recent years, ASEAN countries have received valuable financial and technical support from China, Japan and South Korea. The cooperation between countries in the Southeast Asia and East Asia on social welfares plays an important role in the development of socio-economy of each country and the regions, Dam added.
To ensure social justice and sustainable development, Southeast Asian and East Asian governments have implemented measures to promote social security and welfares for disadvantaged group towards a barrier-free society. However, there are still poor and disabled people who have no access to adequate basic social services, especially health, education and clean water, Dam said.
During the meeting, participants updated information of cooperation programs on social welfares and set out solutions for coming years based on each country's interests.
The 7th SOMSWD+3 is one of the activities held on the sidelines of the 8th ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting on Social Welfares and Development (SOMSWD 8).
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