The topics were discussed during plenary sessions of the sixth ASEAN People’s Forum (APF-6) on September 24, following the event’s opening session.

The representatives said that ASEAN is implementing its Charter and speeding up the plan for building the ASEAN Community by 2015 and Southeast Asia is an important geo-political and economic region which is attracting a lot of interest from powerful countries.

They noted that these factors present both opportunities and challenges to ASEAN and its people.

They agreed that ASEAN needs to boost its external relations and cooperation to deal with existing challenges, and maintain peace and stability in the region.

ASEAN should focus on promoting people-centred, sustainable and equal development and buildi a people-centred community, said the representatives.

They discussed measures and made recommendations for actions coordinated by ASEAN people’s organizations to cope with challenges arising during the course of building the ASEAN Community, and increase the people’s involvement in the group’s decision-making process.

In the afternoon session ‘Understanding Vietnam’, representatives acknowledged the multi-dimensional achievements attained by the Vietnamese people and expressed a desire to learn about the challenges faced by the country and its experiences in developing models of sustainable development.

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