ASEAN culture, information officials meet in Laos to push for better understanding

The ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information (COCI) kicked off its 51st meeting in Lao capital Vientiane on Tuesday to push for greater understanding among the group of more than 600 million citizens of diverse cultures.

In his opening remarks, Lao Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Savankhone Razmountry said the COCI and its two sub-committees have played a key role in raising awareness of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the years. Various activities have done much to educate the ASEAN people, especially young people, about the region's diversity of cultures, according to local Vientiane Times.

The deputy minister highly valued the contributions and efforts of the COCI in developing and implementing a series of important projects on culture and information, including ASEAN TV News Exchange (ATN), ASEAN in Action (AIA), now known as Voice of ASEAN-Beyond Boundaries, among others.

Savankhone encouraged the ASEAN delegates to initiate more projects in order to promote better understanding among the ASEAN people as the group is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

Laos is holding the rotating ASEAN chair for 2016, the first year after the establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015 and the first year of the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025. Endit