Singapore - The 6th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication kicked off here on Monday.
Over the next two days, the meeting will be reviewing the work that 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have undertaken in these areas, including an ASEAN Roadmap for Implementation of Millennium Development Goals, according to the organizers.
The meeting will also be endorsing the relevant sections of the draft ASEAN Socio-Cultural Blueprint, a major contribution towards the establishment of an ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
Poverty has continued to decline steadily in South East Asian. The Asian Development Bank reports that 10 percent of people in the region live on less than 1 U.S. dollar a day, representing a fall of more than 50 percent in the poverty headcount between 1990and 2002.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Singapore`s Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sport, said, "ASEAN countries have made strong progress in reducing extreme poverty and hunger. Although there are still considerable differences across some member countries, all ten member countries remain committed to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)".
According to Yu-Foo, the regional bloc has taken concrete steps to narrow the development gaps that exist between member countries, including initiatives such as the Vientiane Action Plan and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration.
Yu-Foo said Singapore remains a firm supporter of such programs. In 2007, the Singapore government contributed a total of 600,000 U.S. dollars to the ASEAN Development Fund, in order to provide financial support for the implementation of the Vientiane Action Plan.
For the period of 2009 to 2011, Singapore has pledged a further30 million U.S. dollars to the Initiative for ASEAN Integration, bringing its total contribution to almost 120 million U.S. dollars.
During the meeting, senior officials from 10 member nations will also engage delegates from Japan, China and the Republic of Korea at the first +3 meeting to seek collaboration and exchange experiences on rural development and poverty eradication. Editor: Yan
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com (October 13, 2008)