VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is now preparing to set up a national coordinating committee for information specifically related to ASEAN, according to Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Do Quy Doan.

Addressing the 13th Conference of the ASEAN Subcommittee on Information (SCI 13) which opened in the central city of Da Nang on June 12, the Deputy Minister said Vietnam has integrated deeper into the region with many of its domestically produced programmes being broadcast on other ASEAN television channels.

The country will also draw up a national communications plan to disseminate information at a national level on the ASEAN’s three pillars of politics and security, economy and culture, he said.

The SCI 13 is attended by numerous senior officials in charge of information services from all 10 ASEAN countries with representatives from the press and TV and radio broadcasters across the region.

This is the first time that representatives from three of the bloc’s partners, namely China, Japan and Republic of Korea, have taken part in an SCI meeting, under the instructions of the second conference of the ASEAN Plus Three Ministers Responsible for Information (2 nd AMRI+3) in Malaysia on March 1, 2012.

The two-day conference includes a plenary session and a meeting between the ASEAN Subcommittee on Information and the three partner countries (SCI+3).

The participants will hear reports on the implementation of the Action Plan and Communications Plan for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community and the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity.

They will also discuss plans to carry out several projects in 2012 and 2013, especially plans to use digital television technology in ASEAN countries by 2020, as well as broadcasting and news services of exchange TV and radio programmes among ASEAN member countries.

* ASEAN increase cooperation in justice

More than 70 judges and representatives of justice ministries from ten ASEAN member countries are gathering in Phnom Penh on June 12 to discuss measures to strengthen legal and judicial cooperation.

Themed "Strengthening members' participation in legal information networks", the two-day workshop is chaired by Cambodian Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana, US Ambassador to ASEAN David Carden, and Bagas Hapsoro, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs.

Opening the workshop, Minister Ang Vong Vathana stressed the event offers an opportunity for regional judges and prosecutors to exchange views on various issues and discuss ways to build and strengthen legal and judicial linkages.

During the workshop, participants have discussed implications of the ASEAN Charter and the enforcement of international deals in each member country.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

VietNamNet/Vietnam Plus