ASEAN regional meeting on PWDs held in Pattaya

BANGKOK, December 6 (TNA) - Officials and civil society representatives from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan are gathering in Thailand's eastern seaside resort town of Pattaya for a two-day meeting, beginning on December 6, to discuss cooperation on improving the livelihood of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Southeast Asia. The meeting was organized as part of cooperation between the governments of Japan and ASEAN member countries under the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund. Shigekazu Sato, the Japanese Ambassador to Thailand, told TNA that the Japanese government plans to dispatch experts and to fund projects on supporting capacity building for PWDs in Southeast Asia and to become an active partner in strengthening ASEAN connectivity in this field to achieve the goal. The meeting's main organizer, the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD), acknowledged that the regional gathering is also aimed to be a regional platform to promote rights-based empowerment of PWDs across Southeast Asia. Dr. Tej Bunnag, Chairperson of the APCD Executive Board, told TNA that the APCD plans to build on its 10-year experiences as a regional organization on enhancing PWDs capacity in the Asian Pacific region and on promoting community-based and inclusive development for PWDs in Southeast Asia, namely simple initiatives like making urban areas wheel-chair friendly or making personnel in the regional service sector to pay attention to and to meet PWDs demands. Participants in the two-day forums include officials at all levels from the 10-member ASEAN bloc, covering the incoming Vietnamese ASEAN Secretary-General, Lu Luong Minh, who will soon replace incumbent ASEAN chief Surin Pitsuwan, a former Thai foreign minister. (TNA)