Addressing the meeting, Minister Chuyen stressed that sharing experience in skills development and skill improvement through regional cooperation is an important step towards the mutual recognition of professional qualifications in ASEAN. 

She asked ASEAN members to prioritise professional skill harmonisation in their national labour programme until 2015, with the aim of recognizing professional qualifications of workers in certain jobs in ASEAN countries. 

Chuyen also stressed the need for a market of skillful workers and migrant workers in order to build a dynamic and effective ASEAN Community. 

In his opening speech, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen urged ASEAN countries to protect their workers abroad in the process of labour market liberalisation towards an ASEAN Community in 2015. 

With a workforce of 285 million people, ASEAN countries need to be clearly aware of the importance of creating more jobs, developing labour quality and social protection for workers and protecting the rights of guest workers, he stressed. 

He also emphasized the need for labour cooperation among ASEAN members. 

The meeting issued a joint communiqué, agreeing on job creation and human resource development, increasing management over labour migration, strengthening social security and social protection and multilateral cooperation and prevention of HIV/AIDS among workers. 

After the meeting, themed “Improving social protection and skill development,” Labour Ministers of ASEAN and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea held the eighth ALMM + 3.