The 18^th meeting of the Governing Council of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN IPR) took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, on January 21, the first during Viet Nam’s ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020.

Ambassador Tran Duc Binh, head of Viet Nam’s permanent delegation to ASEAN and Chairman of the ASEAN IPR’s Governing Council. (Photo: VNA)

The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Tran Duc Binh, head of Viet nam’s permanent delegation to ASEAN and Chairman of the ASEAN IPR’s Governing Council.

Addressing the meeting, Ambassador Binh congratulated Thailand on the success of the year it held the Chairmanship of the ASEAN, and praised Thailand’s contributions as Chair of the ASEAN IPR in 2019.

He shared Viet Nam’s priorities during the year it serves as ASEAN Chair, noting that one of them is to promote programmes and activities related to women, peace and security in ASEAN in the context that maintaining peace and security continue to be one of the focuses of the association.

The council discussed and adopted the ASEAN IPR’s working programme in 2020, acknowledged the financial report for 2019 and proposed working budget in 2020 for the ASEAN IPR’s Secretariat.

The meeting also considered some proposals on projects and activities of the ASEAN IPR in the time ahead, including training to raise peace and reconciliation capacity, a research project to support women, peace and security in ASEAN, a symposium on young people and technology, and Viet Nam’s proposal on organizing a workshop on ASEAN women’s role in maintaining sustainable peace and security in the digital era in Viet Nam in May this year. 

Established in 2012, the ASEAN IPR is an ASEAN institution dedicated to research activities and supporting the ASEAN bodies on the issues of peace, reconciliation, conflict management and conflict resolution.

(Source: VNA)