Thick smoke rises from a fire in Medang Kampai, Dumai, Riau, Indonesia on Aug 9, 2016 (Photo:EPA)
Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia has called on ASEAN member countries to restart a high priority cooperation plan to fight haze pollution in the region by 2020.
Speaking at the 12 th conference of parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) in Kuala Lumpur on August 11, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi said some of the activities of the plan have been dormant due to a lack of resources.
He requested the parties focus on the plan as it is significant in ensuring the goals of the AATHP. He also addressed high-priority areas which need to be done, including technical cooperation to mitigate risks to human health arising from haze from forest fires, as well as organising regular workshops to intensify the implementation of the AATHP.
Referring to the worst haze pollution in history in 2015, the Deputy Prime Minister said the incident affected millions of people in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the southern part of the Philippines and the northern part of Laos.
ASEAN passed the AATHP in 2002 and the agreement was ra🅠tified by its all 10 member countries in January 2015.-VN🍌A
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Malaysia’s Ministry of Education said on October 22 that all schools in the country that had been closed since October 19 would reopen on October 23, with the exception of schools in four states.
Environment officials of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand convened the 18th meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution in Singapore.
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The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) entered its second plenary session in Hanoi on the afternoon of April 23, discussing ways to ensure comprehensive security for the people-centred ASEAN Community.
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ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed ASEAN leaders' commitment to empowering the youth to unleash their full potential when he had a dialogue with ASEAN youth in Hanoi on April 22 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Future Forum (AF 2024).
The Thai Government is being urged to increase the proportion of renewable power generation to more than the target of 50% set in the power development plan (PDP).
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
Thick smoke rises from a fire in Medang Kampai, Dumai, Riau, Indonesia on Aug 9, 2016 (Photo:EPA)
