Vietnam’s chairmanship lauded at high-level meeting of ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center

Vietnam’s 2020 chairmanship was applauded at the 14th meeting of the Steering Committee of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC), held in Phnom Penh on December 9 in the form of videoconference.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh chairs the meeting. (Photo: VNA)
Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh chairs the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Participants praised Vietnam’s initiative in setting up the Friends of ARMAC (FOA) group in boosting the centre’s role and image and mobilising broader support from public-private partners for its activities. The establishment was approved at the 13th meeting of the ARMAC Steering Committee on September 1. The debut of the group, however, was delayed by the pandemic.

FOA has so far been joined by 30 members from foreign embassies in Cambodia, organisations, and universities.

The meeting reviewed reports from the 13th meeting and problems that have arisen since, discussed the debut of FOA, and selected the date and venue for the 15th meeting.

Vietnam handed over the chairmanship to Brunei, with participants agreeing to appoint Vietnam and Cambodia as deputy chairs of the ARMAC Steering Committee in 2021.

Concluding the meeting, Vu Quang Minh, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia and the Chair of the ARMAC Steering Committee for 2020, thanked the committee’s members and secretariat for helping him fulfil his mission this year amid the challenges brought about by COVID-19.

He also expressed his confidence in the performance of Bruneian Ambassador Pengiran Kasmirhan Pengiran Tahir as the Chair of the steering committee next year.