ASEAN+3 ministers call for enhancing information, media cooperation

NAY PYI TAW (Xinhua) - The 12th Conference of ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information  (AMRI) and the 3rd AMRI+3 meeting ended in Myanmar's capital of Nay Pyi Taw Thursday with a joint media statement calling for enhancing information and  media cooperation.

The ministers urged stronger coordination and effective communication among different sectoral bodies in the implementation of the ASCC blueprint, optimizing opportunities for cross-sectoral cooperation to inform the public about the benefit of ASEAN's integration and community building .

With regard to digital broadcasting, the ministers welcomed initiatives that were identified to benefit leapfrogging to digital video broadcasting. In the area of technical standard, the ministers endorsed a recommendation on the development of an ASEAN- wide DVB-T2 integrated receiver decoder (IRD) specification.

The ministers agreed that the information and media shall cover more cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder issues to create a sense of belonging and enhancing deeper mutual understanding among ASEAN member states about their culture, history, religion and civilization, highlighting the need to deepen media cooperation to support community building.

The ministers also agreed to adopt a Declaration on Social Responsible Media for a Peaceful and Prosperous Community.

The ministers called for the set-up of three working groups respectively related to digital broadcasting, training and production.

They noted that several initiatives are being discussed to further enhance cooperation between ASEAN and the plus three countries.

The ASEAN ministers appreciated China's efforts to use broadcasting and publication for fostering the ASEAN-China friendly ties and good-neighborly relationship.

Similarly, the ASEAN ministers also appreciated Japan's plan on cooperation to promote authorized distribution of broadcast content and strengthen cultural exchange.

The ASEAN ministers also welcomed the furtherance of media exchange with South Korea.

The ministers agreed to convene the 13th conference of AMRI and its related meetings with dialogue partners in the Philippines in 2016.