The Nineteenth ASEAN senior officials meeting on rural development and poverty eradication (19th SOMRDPE)
On the morning of August 31st, 2022, in Hanoi, the 19th ASEAN Summit on Rural Development and Poverty Reduction (SOMRDPE 19) was chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The conference featured the attendance of over 100 delegates of 14 delegations of senior officials from ASEAN member countries, representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat, SOM heads; and 3 partner countries: China, Japan, and Korea in the direct and online form.
Speaking at the welcome remark, Mr. Nguyen Ha Hue, Deputy Director General of the International Cooperation Department – SOMRDPE leader of Vietnam informed: “At this meeting, we will together look at the current situation of rural development- poverty eradication in the ASEAN region to identify key issues, which need to promote the cooperation for adapting to climate changes and post-Covid recovery”. He stressed that specific cooperative activities will be demonstrated through the implementation of the ASEAN Framework of Action Plans on Rural Development and Poverty Reduction in 2021-2025.
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Delegates from the participating countries at The 19th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication SOMRDPE 19) and the 15th Senior Officials Meeting and three partners (China, Japan, Korea) on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE + 3). Photo: ICD-MARD
The SOMRDPE 19 took place in the context of a global economic slowdown and the risk of a new crisis, while still recovering from the pandemic. ASEAN is facing many difficulties and challenges such as natural disasters, epidemics, and climate change that are threatening the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of farmers and rural residents in the region. The ASEAN has struggled to maintain its poverty reduction achievements, these reached achievement facing big challenges in terms of rural development and high rates of rural poverty. Therefore, countries need to rethink their rural development approaches in this region.
The meeting informed about the ASEAN Framework of Action Plans on Rural Development and Poverty Reduction in 2021-2025, which was adopted by ASEAN in 2021. The Framework includes 52 projects and initiatives that have been implemented to realize the goal of rural development and poverty reduction in economic, human, protectionist, political, and inclusivity as the focus areas.
The ASEAN Framework of Action Plans on Rural Development and Poverty Reduction in 2021-2025
The overall goal : improving the economic and social living conditions of poor people in rural areas and assisting the poorest groups of people living in rural areas to benefit from development)
5 key result areas and 5 strategic objectives:
- The economic sector aims to identify rapid rural transformation, creating conditions for this area to participate in socio-economic opportunities.
- The human factor, the Framework Action Plan aims to ensure that people in rural areas have access to education, social services, and health care towards improving well-being and healthy living in rural communities.
- In terms of protective, the Framework aims to institutionalize disaster response programs for environmental risks and climate change towards the rapid resilience of communities and households.
- In terms of political factors, there should be effective governance, and institutionalization of regulations and processes to strengthen rural development initiatives and poverty reduction.
- For inclusivity, it aims to institutionalize multi-stakeholder rural development mechanisms, especially enhancing the participation of women and youth and other vulnerable sectors in rural areas.
At the meeting, the delegates from the countries shared their experiences in rural development, and poverty alleviation as well as proposals for cooperation with other countries in the region in this field. Responding to climate change and digital transformation are two priority areas, focusing on serving rural development and poverty reduction in Vietnam. Besides sharing experiences in dealing with climate change, the Representative of Vietnam, Mrs. Pham Thi Hong Hanh, Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) confirmed that “Vietnam is willing to cooperate and share experiences in the field of digital transformation as well as advanced technologies in agriculture with ASEAN member countries”.
The 15th Senior Officials Meeting and three partners (China, Japan, Korea) on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE + 3).
In the afternoon of the same day, the 15th Senior Officials Meeting of ASEAN and 3 partner countries (China, Japan, and South Korea) on rural development and poverty eradication (SOMRDPE + 3) also took place in Hanoi. At the conference, the Vietnamese representative called for cooperation with ASEAN members and three partners to realize the goals of the ASEAN Framework Action Plan on rural development and poverty reduction to promote comprehensive rural development in the ASEAN region.
Establishment of ASEAN rural industry development network
under the model of one commune, one product-OCOP
On the occasion of The 19th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication SOMRDPE 19) held in Hanoi, many other sideline activities were also organized such as The 11th ASEAN Public – Private – People Partnership Forum on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication; A Workshop to establish an ASEAN rural industry development network under the model of one commune, one product (OCOP), etc.