Along with the establishment of AMMS the Senior Officials of Sports Meeting (SOMS) was formed to support AMMS. The first SOMS was held on November 30, 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was followed by the first AMMS on December 14, 2011 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Vietnam has participated in SOMS since 2012 and been present in all editions of this annual event. During its participation and contribution to the important role of SOMS, the country hosted the event in 2014 and now will take the responsibility for the second time in 2024.
Accordingly, the SOMS-4 took place in Hanoi in 2014 with the participation of sports officials and delegates from 9 ASEAN countries of Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The SOMS-4 actively contributed promoting and enhancing the understanding of the people of ASEAN countries about internal foreign relations; tightening diplomatic relations between ASEAN countries; promoting Vietnamese culture, sports and tourism to international friends; and orienting sports and sports-related activities in the region.
In addition, the meeting also highlighted challenges and difficulties such as the cooperating in the field of sports and orienting sports and sports-related activities in the region that need to be urgently resolved.
As the host of the upcoming SOMS-15, Vietnam has been ready for three official meetings that will take place from October 14-16 in Vinh Phuc Province.
The SOMS-15 and related conferences are really important in promoting sports cooperation and sports-related activities between ASEAN member states (AMS), international organizations and partner countries such as Japan and China.
As many as 80 international delegates who are representatives of the ASEAN secretariat, leaders of Japanese and Chinese sports federations; ASEAN member states, Timor Leste, international organizations, and relevant ASEAN dialogue partner countries will attend the meeting. There are also about 50 Vietnamese delegates representing ministries, departments and media agencies.
Through this event Vietnam is expected to demonstrate the responsibility and effectiveness of its obligations as an ASEAN member state in the specialized cooperation mechanism, while ensure its benefits among participating parties for the purpose of building a peaceful, stable and prosperous ASEAN community.
The host will also take this opportunity to introduce the image of Vietnam's land, country and people to international friends, strengthening friendship and mutual understanding in the ASEAN community.
Thanh Hà