Jakarta (VNA) – The ASEAN Secretariat held anonline cross-sectoral and cross-pillar consultation on the Narrative of ASEANIdentity on August 31.

Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi,Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEANSocio-Cultural Community Kung Phoak, and Chairs of the ASEAN sectoral bodiesfrom the three ASEAN Community Pillars attended the meeting to discuss the developmentof the narrative.

In his opening remarks, the ASEANSecretary-General said: “In order for ASEAN to gain wider traction, we need togo beyond promoting the understanding of ASEAN. ASEAN needs to develop a senseof belonging and ownership among its 660 million people.’’

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marsudi stated:“ASEAN Identity must become the soul that binds ASEAN as it progresses as onefamily. This is particularly important as ASEAN transforms itself from asociety into a community, with shared values and common vision. In the comingyears, the ASEAN Identity must be streamlined into the workplans of all thesectoral bodies from the three pillars of ASEAN.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary-General Kung Phoakurged the sectoral bodies to continue to be proactive in mainstreaming ASEANIdentity, noting that this is just the beginning.

“We foresee more discussions and engagementswith our sectoral bodies to understand how we are to celebrate andoperationalise ASEAN Identity,” he added.

The idea to develop the Narrative of ASEANIdentity was first introduced following the adoption of the YogyakartaDeclaration on Embracing Culture of Prevention to Enrich ASEAN Identity by theASEAN Ministers Responsible for Culture and Arts in October 2018.

As 2020 is the Year of ASEAN Identity, theSenior Officials Meeting for Culture and Arts (SOMCA) talked and supported thedevelopment on the Narrative of ASEAN Identity at the 15th SOMCA inSeptember 2019. The draft narrative was also discussed with civil society organisationsduring the Virtual Consultative Meeting held on August 24.

This narrative will be the main deliverable ofthe 2020 Year of ASEAN Identity and one of the key deliverables of Vietnam’schairmanship. It is set to be adopted by the bloc’s leaders at the 37th ASEANSummit this November./.