AsiaDHRRA’s Secretary-General, Ms. Marlene Ramirez, Co-chaired the recent ASEAN 12th Public Private People Partnership (PPPP) Forum on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (RDPE) held in Singapore on 20 November 2023. Ms. Ramirez, representing the Civil Society Organization (CSO) sector, delivered a brief speech on matters relating to the inception of 1st RDPE in Vietnam, the regional challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the year 2030, and key action plan and cooperation in the implementation of Rural Development Master Plan.
She also highlighted the awardees of the 10th RDPE Leadership Awards and their significant roles as community-based local leaders and frontliners who contributed to changing the lives of the marginalized in rural areas. These are the same people who engage constructively in policymaking and empowering smallholder farmers as significant actors in the value chain.
Lastly, she extended her gratitude to the event’s organizers, namely, the ASEAN Secretariat, the member states of Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE), representatives of Indonesia to ASEAN and the Ministry of Social and Family Development of Singapore.
