ASEAN meeting on rural development and poverty closes in Singapore

SINGAPORE, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The 6th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty, and the regional bloc's inaugural plus three meeting with China, Japan and South Korea closed here on Wednesday.

The meeting was opened on Monday by Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Singapore's Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports. She stressed that narrowing the development gap in the region is important to the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

During the two-day meeting, representatives from the 10 member states reviewed and discussed activities by member countries aimed at eradicating poverty.

On the ASEAN+3 level, the countries on Wednesday discussed joint projects and activities that were proposed in the areas such as narrowing the development gap, addressing poverty among the socially vulnerable groups.

The meeting will be held at the ministerial level in Hanoi, Vietnam, next year, while the 7th senior officials meeting is scheduled for 2010 in Thailand, followed immediately by the secondASEAN+3 meeting with China, Japan and South Korea.