The 14th Southeast Asia Red Cross Red Crescent Leadership Meeting is scheduled to take place in Hanoi on September 21-22 to discuss orientations to expand humanitarian cooperation in the region.

President of the Vietnam Red Cross Society Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu

At a press conference in Hanoi on September 18, President of the Vietnam Red Cross Society Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu said the leaders will look at ways to coordinate with the ASEAN Secretariat to address issues related to natural disasters, climate change, urban development, healthcare, youth development, gender and emigration.

The meeting will also touch upon the agenda of the 21st General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Forum to be held in Turkey in November this year.

Within the framework of the meeting, the Red Cross Societies of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia will sign a humanitarian cooperation agreement for the 2017-2022 period, which aims to promote the trilateral traditional friendship, solidarity and cooperation.

At the press conference, the Red Cross Society of Vietnam also called on individuals and organisations to raise money to support the country’s central region which was hard hit by typhoon Doksuri.

The meeting is expected to bring together more than 30 leaders, presidents and general secretaries from 11 Southeast Asian countries, namely host Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei.

VNA