Vietnam - The fourth Asean-European Meeting Labour and Employment Ministerial Conference (ASEM-LEMC) opening was officiated by the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dzung, on October 24.

Representing the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam was the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Hj Awg Halbi bin Hj Mohd Yussof The deputy minister was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Dato Paduka Hj Abdul Majid bin Mangarshah; and the Commissioner of Labour, Ramlee Hj Jamudin; as well as senior officers from the ministry and the Labour Department.

Also present at the conference were ministers and deputy ministers ofASEM countries, representatives from the European Commission, and the Asean Secretariat.

The main theme for the conference this year is 'Social protection and employment - a key to sustainable and inclusive growth', in which the three topics discussed were policies to foster employment, including youth employment and employment of other vulnerable groups; three key future challenges of the joint work agenda, including social protection, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and health and safety at work; as well as matching skills development with future opportunities.

In the conference, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs took the opportunity to share some of the measures undertaken by Brunei in promoting employment in the private sector, especially for the youth.

The conference saw the exchange of good practices in the field of employment and social policies while taking into consideration current cooperation projects and the identification of future cooperation projects.

The conference concluded with the adoption of the Hanoi Declaration on Employment and Social Protection.

--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin