PUTRAJAYA, 21 June 2023 – Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia hosted the Twelfth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY XII) and other related meetings in a hybrid format with ASEAN Member States and Plus Three Countries participated virtually. Timor-Leste joined the Meetings as an online observer.
Chaired by Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia Adam Adli bin Abd Halim, the Ministers exchanged updates on the shared priorities on youth’s mental health and well-being, consistent with Malaysia’s youth sector chairpersonship theme: Mental Health Matters: You are Not Alone. The Ministers also looked forward to the progressive implementation of ASEAN Work Plan on Youth 2021 – 2025, which includes activities such as ASEAN Youth Forum and ASEAN Youth Organisation.
Through their statements, the Ministers highlighted the critical importance of mental health for youth and highlighted the surrounding issues such as malnutrition, tobacco consumption, drug use, and impacts of social media exposure.
The Ministers also noted the progress of 2nd ASEAN Youth Development Index and looked forward to its upcoming publication.
When invited by Chair to deliver their remarks, Timor-Leste highlighted that a large share of their population are considered as youth, and the alignment of their youth development agenda with ASEAN’s priorities.
Hannah Yeoh, Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia, co-chaired the Eighth ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Youth alongside In Jeong Suk, Director of Division of Youth Activities Promotion, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of the Republic of Korea. The Meeting reiterated the ASEAN Plus Three’s commitments to strengthen people-to-people exchange, guided by the ASEAN Plus Three Work Plan on Youth 2021-2025.
At AMMY XII, Myanmar and Philippines respectively assumed their chairpersonship and vice-chairpersonship for 2023-2024 and aim to reconvene for the series of meetings in 2024, in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, under the chairpersonship theme: “Encouraging Youth’s Contribution Towards a Cohesive Society in ASEAN”. Meanwhile, Myanmar and China will serve as Co-Chairs for the ASEAN Plus Three Meetings under the Youth Sector.
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