ASEAN media to contribute to building Community

(KPL) ASEAN information ministers who gathered here last week at their 10th Conference of ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information discussed ways in which information sector could enhance the effectiveness of the existing programmes to further support ASEAN Community building.

They noted the ongoing projects to increase ASEAN awareness, such as the television and radio news exchange, support for the use of ASEAN anthem “the ASEAN Way”, and ASEAN symbols including ASEAN motto “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”, to raise ASEAN awareness, and several programmes on promoting the cooperation and assistance to strengthen media in each member state.

ASEAN information ministers and their counterparts from ASEAN+3 countries, namely, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, reached several agreements on promoting cooperation and assistance in information and media sector to contribute to the establishment of ASEAN community by 2015.

“All the documents we have discussed and approved at the meeting are very important for the media in ASEAN member states,” said Deputy Minister of Information and Culture of the Lao PDR, Mr. Bosengkham Vongdara. “To Laos the assistance for human resource development in the media sector is very important and this will contribute to narrowing the gap of human resource development in the information and media sector between ASEAN member states,” Mr. Bosengkham added.

At the Conference of ASEAN+3 Ministers Responsible for Information, held for the first time in Vientiane last Friday, ministers from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, expressed their commitment to providing assistance for the information and media sector in ASEAN member states to achieve the building of ASEAN community such as the cooperation in producing documentaries, information exchange, human resource development in the media sector and the provision of information and communication technology for ASEAN member countries. Mr. Mounkeo Oraboun, Lao Minister of Information and Culture, said that the cooperation between ASEAN and the three dialogue partners of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea had seen success in many areas over the past years.

“Support and assistance from our dialogue partner countries are important for ASEAN to achieve its objectives,” said Mr. Mounkeo.

KPL Lao News Agency