The opening ceremony of the 17th ASEAN Environment Ministers Meeting (AMME17) was held in Vientiane (Lao PDR) on August 23. The hosts are Laotian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bounkham Vorachit and Secretary-General of ASEAN Kao Kim Hourn.

At the event, there were ASEAN environment ministers, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Many country representatives from China, Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States also joined.

Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan at AMME17 (Photo: VNA).

Speaking at the 17th AMME Conference, Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan emphasized the regional and global challenge of “double crisis”, namely climate change, environmental pollution and the loss of biological diversity.

Nhan also made three proposals, the first one is to strengthen regional solidarity to tackle the “double crisis” mentioned above. Secondly, he stressed that a fair and inclusive transition must be one of ASEAN's top priorities in the process towards net zero emissions, energy transition, and plastic waste management.

Also, toward a greener ASEAN, it is crucial to promote cooperation with partners to mobilize institutional, technical and financial support, which contributes to building a resilient and sustainable ASEAN community.

AMME17 aims to discuss advanced regional environmental cooperation and integration to achieve the 2030 Agenda’s goals for sustainable development (Photo: Lao News Agency).

At the opening ceremony, Lao Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bounkham Vorachit said that the focus of AMME17's discussion will be the implementation of the framework for environmental cooperation since the 16th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment. The important issues of regional climate change, chemicals and waste, biological diversity, and fostering collaboration for environmentally friendly and sustainable development will be highlighted throughout.

The ministers will also discuss further cooperative activities, make recommendations, and propose a solution for advancing the ASEAN framework for environmental cooperation.

"[At the meeting, we will be] recognizing the current status and trends of environmental issues as well as initiatives in place to address environmental concerns in the region such as recognize the progress and achievements of ASEAN Cooperation on Environment and the Seven Strategic Priorities of the working groups under ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN) and the works of the Governing Board of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity," said Vorachit.

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