The ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 2 under the chairmanship of assistant to Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh.

This is one of a series of meetings, including the ASEAN Senior Economics Officials Meeting (SEOM), the meeting of the Senior Officials Committee for the ASEAN Socio- Cultural Community (SOCA), and the Joint Preparatory Meeting (JPM) that are being held in the city from March 1-3.

SOM focused on preparations for the 16th ASEAN Summit slated for Hanoi on April 8 and 9. The meeting also discussed ways to implement the decisions of ministerial meetings which were held in the central coastal city of Da Nang in January 2010.

This year, the ASEAN meetings will discuss the building of a common ASEAN community, promoting intra-bloc connectivity and improving regional capacity in response to rising challenges. ASEAN officials will also talk orientations to expand and deepen the co-operation between ASEAN and its partners. (VNA)