SINGAPORE, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The third ASEAN Plus Three environment ministers meeting ended here on Thursday with the participants stressing the need to enhance cooperation through more substantial environmental programs and activities.

    "The ministers recognized the synergy of the environmental cooperation among ASEAN Plus Three countries and noted the need to enhance cooperation through more substantial environmental programs and activities," the ministers said in a joint statement.

    The ministers from the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their counterparts from China, South Korea and Japan held fruitful discussions, and they shared and exchanged information on national and regional cooperation among ASEAN and the Plus Three countries.

    The ASEAN ministers expressed appreciation on the current substantial cooperative activities, especially on the consultationvisits organized by the Plus Three countries to share their experience on environmental management with the ASEAN countries, the ministers said.

    The ASEAN ministers endorsed the ASEAN Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, and supported the establishment of the ASEAN Environment Fund.

    At the 8th Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting of the Environment here on Wednesday, the ASEAN ministers discussed, among other issues, the implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution that came into force in November lastyear.

    In a related development, a two-day conference on environmentally sustainable cities in ASEAN opened here on Thursday with the participation of ASEAN city managers. Enditem