Hanoi (VNA) - The 31st Meeting ofASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN 31) and related meetingskicked off via videoconference on November 24 and will run until November 27.

ASOEN 31 is an occasion for ASEAN membercountries to review ASOEN activities and issue recommendations to improve theireffectiveness, contributing to the realisation of targets in the draft ASEANstrategic plan on the environment as well as environmental sustainabilitywithin the framework of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community and the ASEANCommunity Vision 2025.

Apart from officials of member states, it is alsobeing attended by representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Centrefor Biodiversity, the EU Delegation to Vietnam, and the German agency fordevelopment cooperation (GIZ).

Opening ASOEN 31, Deputy Minister of NaturalResources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said the Vietnamese Government alwaysattaches importance to environmental protection, especially biodiversityconservation; the management of water resources, the marine environment, andcoastal zones; climate change; chemicals and waste; marine plastic waste; andsustainable economic development.

He noted that Vietnam strongly supports thebuilding of an ASEAN plan of action on marine waste and the bloc’s jointdeclaration at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) of the Convention onBiological Diversity.

By jointly making and implementing a regionalaction plan and issuing joint declarations, member countries reflect theircohesion in working with the international community to deal with globalenvironmental problems, Nhan said.

To achieve environmental sustainability, he calledupon all parties to exert stronger efforts to resolve pressing issues such astrans-boundary water and air pollution, marine plastic waste, and climatechange, to ensure better social welfare and a safer living environment whilesustainably conserving and managing biodiversity for the sake of current andfuture generations of people throughout ASEAN.

As countries in the region and the world continueto deal with COVID-19, closer cooperation is needed to defeat the pandemic, Nhansaid, adding that it is also necessary for countries to continue standing side-by-sideto handle regional environmental issues on the basis of cooperation and mutualtrust.

Events on the sidelines of ASOEN 31 include the14th ASEAN-Japan Dialogue on Environmental Cooperation, the 17th ASEAN PlusThree Senior Officials’ Meeting on the Environment, and the second ASEAN-EUhigh-level dialogue on the environment and climate change.

The ASOEN chairmanship will be handed over fromMalaysia to Myanmar at the closing session of ASOEN 31./.