Senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea met?in Hanoi?Friday to review and put forward proposals for cooperation between the ASEAN and its three partners in the environment field.

At the 7th ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials' Meeting on the Environment, the ASEAN senior officials informed their counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea of educational activities on environment such as the ASEAN youth forum on sustainable development and eco-school programs. They said the ASEAN plus three countries could enhance cooperation to implement these activities. Participants also discussed the preparation for the 9th ASEAN Plus Three Environment Ministers' Meeting in Brunei later this year.

Within the ASEAN plus three cooperation, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea have given much support to ASEAN countries in the environment area such as the implementation of the 3R policy ( Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) and training courses to enhance capacity in environment protection.

The ASEAN was established in 1967 and currently comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.