Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Five ASEAN countries ministers met on Thursday to discuss issues related to social welfare at the 9th ASEAN Regional Level Meeting for Development and Social Welfare here.

The Minister of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Khofifah Indar Parawansa; Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation of Cambodia Sauth Vong; and Minister of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia Dato Sri Rohani Abdul Karim were among them.

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports of Brunei Darussalam Dato, Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Muhammad Yussof and Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Laos Khampheng Saysompheng also attended the meeting.

Indonesia is currently hosting this important meeting of the five ASEAN countries which began deliberations on September 26 and will continue till September 30, 2016.

The Eleventh ASEAN GO-NGO (governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations) Forum on Social Welfare and Development involved government and non-governmental organizations of ASEAN.

The meeting was of the view that the responsibility for social development lies not just with the government but also with the private sector and communities.

The Twelfth Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare and Development, involving the state governments of ASEAN, was held on September 27, 2016.

It discussed the issue of social welfare and development.

Another regional level meeting was held among government representatives of ASEAN plus three Asian countries, namely China, Japan and South Korea.

In this meeting, each country shared experiences and exchanged ideas about improvements that can be brought in the social welfare efforts in their respective countries. It can also serve as an input for ASEAN countries to formulate a more informed social welfare policy.

At the peak event, ministers and representatives who discussed issues of social welfare and development of children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, came together at one platform.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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