Hanoi (VNA) - The NationalAssembly of Vietnam always pays special attention to issues related to genderequality and women’s development and is willing to cooperate with other ASEANmember nations in this field, said NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

The Vietnamese top legislator made the affirmation during a meeting on October25 with heads of delegations attending the thirdASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Women (AMMW-3) in Hanoi.

She expressed her belief in the meeting’s success, saying that it would contributeto building ASEAN member nations’ policies  on promoting and ensuring social welfare for women and girls, towards implementing the ASEAN CommunityVision 2025 and its sustainable development goals to 2030.

While briefingthe NA leader on the meeting’s agenda, Vietnamese Minister of Labour, War Invalidand Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said the theme of the third AMMWfocuses on social welfare for women and girls.

The ministers are scheduled to adopt a joint statement to affirm commitments andorientations in promoting gender equality, women’s empowerment  and ensuring socialwelfare, thus realizing the common goals of the ASEAN Community by 2025 and implementingthe UN Agenda 2030.

Ngan spoke highly the contents discussed at the meeting, noting that theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members have made great stridesin enhancing the role of women.

She stressed that in the framework of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), theVietnamese NA has actively been boosting cooperation with parliaments of otherAIPA member nations, adding that Vietnam issued laws to promote gender equality,prevent domestic violence and discrimination against women, and enhance gendermainstreaming in national programmes, and supervise the implementation ofregulations on gender equality in laws and policies.

Ngan highlighted Vietnam’sefforts in promoting gender equality and empowerment for women, saying that the genderequality-related issues was noted in the country’s first Constitution in 1946and this view is consistent throughout all the constitutions of Vietnam and  concretized in several action programmes.

The proportion offemale deputies to the 14th NA for the 2016-2021 term is 27.2 percent, 19percent higher than the average rate in Asia and 21 percent of the globalaverage rate. The NA of Vietnam aims to achieve at least 30 percent of femaleNA deputies in the coming term.

Vietnam ranks 69out of 144 countries in terms of narrowing the gap between men and women in allsectors, being one of the 10 best performers in the world in promoting genderequality and empowerment for women and girls, improving the knowledge of girlsand increasing the participation of women in the workforce.

Chairperson ofthe Philippine Commission on Women Remedios I. Rikken expressed her impression forachievements Vietnam has made in the field of gender equality, women'sparticipation in political activities. She also shared some importantachievements of the Philippines in the field.

Ngan congratulated the Philippines on the achievements made in three years asit held the chairmanship of AMMW, saying that obstacles and shortcomings inVietnam and other ASEAN nations make it difficult for women to accessresources, participate in the labour market and enjoy social security services.

She expressed herwish that ministers in charge of women issues in ASEAN countries will continue workhard to promote gender equality and empowerment of women; ensuring equalopportunities in terms of education, employment and access to social securitytowards the common goals of the ASEAN Community 2025 and the UN Agenda 2030.-VNA