Gender issues and disaster prevention and relief in Southeast Asia are also on the agenda of the biennual event organised by universities in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem said issues to be discussed at the event are the common concern of all countries and need help from intellectuals and scientists to find solutions to the problems.

Vietnam has gained important achievements in socio-economic development, particularly in raising social welfare quality for its people after 20 years of renewal, the Deputy PM said.

However, he said, the Vietnamese Government not only needs capital and advanced technology to speed up the national industrialisation and modernisation process but also want to learn from other countries’experiences in avoiding and minimising negative impacts of globalisation and economic growth, such as unemployment, environmental pollution, the degradation of traditional moral values, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, social inequality and diseases.

Deputy PM Khiem affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always creates favourable conditions for universities to conduct research in social sciences and humanities, assess the current situation and expand international cooperation so as to provide scientific foundations for policy making.

The seminar, the seventh of its kind, will last until July 21.