Party delegation attends 3rd Asia-Europe Political Forum meeting in Sri Lanka

The third AEPF meeting saw the participation of representatives from 25 political parties, and experts from 23 Asian and European countries. Initiated in 2017, the AEPF has become an inter-regional mechanism for cooperation and exchange for political parties. 

Participants to the AEPF discussed a number of emerging socio-economic issues in Asia, especially population aging and social welfare and job-related challenges; and shared parties' experiences in handling challenges.

They emphasised measures to ensure social justice, improve the quality of social security systems, expand social insurance participation, enhance the participation of families and communities in elderly health care, and expand opportunities for the elderly to contribute to the community after retirement.

Participants adopted the Colombo declaration, which stressed that the aging of the population has become a global challenge, and affirmed the important role of political parties in promoting governments to effectively deal with relevant challenges.

On the occasion, the 32nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) was held, focusing on orientations and key activities of conference. 

Parties agreed to continue to promote regional political cooperation in the region as well as cooperation among political parties in Asia and those from other regions.

The Vietnamese delegation also attended and effectively contributed to the event.