Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh chairs an Informal Meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers, June 24, 2020 (Photo: Van Diep/VNA)

The special session was proposed by Vietnam to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and affirm ASEAN’s commitment gender equality and promoting the role of women in building the ASEAN Community. Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga, Senior Advisor of the National Secretariat of ASEAN 2020, said, “Gender equality is intrinsic to international cooperation. It was endorsed by all ASEAN members in 2015, and it’s the 5^th of the 17 UN sustainable development goals. The issue is still a priority because women in developing countries are facing problems and developed countries want to share their experience.”

A number of documents will be voted on at the Summit, including the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development. Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said, “This declaration is of great importance as it reiterates ASEAN leaders’ commitment to building an ASEAN community with people as the focus and purpose. The declaration highlights one of ASEAN’s major goals, stated in its Charter, which is human resource development through close cooperation between members.”

The ASEAN Summit is expected to adopt the Chairman's Statement of the 36th ASEAN Summit, the Vision Statement on a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN, and the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development for the Changing World of Work.