ASEAN leaders prioritise pandemic control

Hanoi: At the special virtual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday, leaders of the 10 member states affirmed that the bloc's current leading priority was controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and preventing it from spreading further.

The 10 ASEAN members, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and the ASEAN Secretary-General agreed that the countries should join hands with one another and with other nations to prevent the global pandemic from spreading further, with focus on preventing cross-border infections, reports Xinhua news ahencu.

The leaders also stated that the ASEAN should pay due attention to taking measures to minimize the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19. The countries should forge closer coordination in protecting their citizens, providing social security services as well as economic stimulus and aid packages, and maintaining supply chains to protect people and assist small- and medium-sized enterprises.