Full text of the welcome speech to the 16th AMRI Conference by ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Ekkaphab Phanthavong

The 16th ASEAN Ministers on Information (16th AMRI), the 7th ASEAN+3 Ministers on Information (7th AMRI+3) and related Senior Officials' Meetings will take place in Da Nang from September 20 to 23, 2023. The theme of the Conferences is "Communications: From Information to Knowledge for a Resilient and Responsive ASEAN". The Conference is organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications . At the opening ceremony of the 16th ASEAN Ministers on Information, held this morning, Mr. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, delivered a welcome speech. Vietnam.vn would like to introduce the full text of the welcome speech of Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN Ekkaphab Phanthavong.

Welcoming remarks by Mr. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, at the Opening Ceremony of AMRI 16 and related meetings.

Da Nang , September 22, 2023

Dear Ms. Vo Thi Anh Xuan, VicePresident of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,

Dear Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications of Vietnam,

Dear Mr. Nguyen Van Quang, Secretary of Da Nang City Party Committee

Dear ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information, Dialogue Partners China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Timor-Leste

Ladies and gentlemen, delegates and reporters,

On behalf of the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, allow me to express my warmest congratulations and appreciation to the Government of Viet Nam for its efforts in hosting the 16th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Information (AMRI) , the 20th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Information and related meetings in the beautiful city of Da Nang.

Dear guests;

Allow me to express my deepest honor to welcome Her Excellency Ms. Vo Thi Anh Xuan, Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the opening ceremony. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Thailand, the outgoing chair of AMRI, for its steadfast leadership in guiding cooperation in the field of information and communications through the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, I would also like to acknowledge the valuable presence of the +3 Dialogue Partners and extend a warm welcome to Timor Leste, which will be participating as an observer at the Conference. As ASEAN emerges from the pandemic, the information and communications sector plays a vital and cross-cutting role in promoting the ASEAN Community Vision. The fruitful discussions of SOMRI yesterday and the Ministerial discussions today and tomorrow on the theme of Communications: From Information to Knowledge for a Resilient and Responsive ASEAN will provide further impetus to regional cooperation and strategic directions towards social, sustainable and inclusive development. I would like to once again thank the Government of Viet Nam, especially the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) for hosting this important meeting as we continue our efforts towards building ASEAN into a Community of Opportunities for All .

Thanks a lot.

vietnam.vn