With a call for equal participation in sports, senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Member States teamed up with Japan to hold the First ASEAN Plus Japan Meeting on Women and Sports at the Sofitel Plaza Hotel, Manila on Tuesday.
Philippine Sports Commission and 5th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Sports Chairman William Ramirez acknowledged all the participating delegates and emphasized the power of sports, “as a tool for peace, equality and development among Southeast Asian nations.”
Japan International Affairs Division Director Hirokazu Kumekawa, thanked all the officials and assured that “this will strengthen the commitment of equal participation and opportunity of sports for every women in the ASEAN nation,” serving as the co-chair to the meeting,
Programs that will increase the public awareness on the participation of Women and Girls in Sports and identifying ways forward to promote their participation in the region were lengthily discussed during the session.
Ramirez also met with Deputy Chef de Mission of the Indonesian Embassy in Manila Hon. Widya Rahmanto and Indonesian Embassy Information, Media and Public Relations Head Agus Buan the same day and discussed arrangements for the forthcoming Southeast Asian Games. This meeting prompted the sports chief and Team Philippines Chef de Mission to call for a meeting with Ambassadors of the 11 participating nations of the Games to be provided a briefing and updates on the Philippine-hosted event.