Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Jakarta (VNA) – The 59th meeting of the Initiative for ASEANIntegration (IAI) Task Force and the 9th Consultation Meeting of the IAI TaskForce and ASEAN Partners took place in Jakarta, Indonesia from October 3-4.
TheVietnamese delegation to the events was led by Ambassador Tran Duc Binh, headof the Vietnamese mission to the ASEAN.
The 59th IAI Task Force Meeting is a regular eventgathering permanent representatives from ASEAN countries to review theimplementation of IAI projects and seek measures to further enhance theefficiency of the IAI Work Plan in the third phase in the 2016-2020 period (IAIWork Plan III).
Sofar, after three years of implementation, 19 out of 26 actions of the plan havebeen conducted across all five strategic areas of Food and Agriculture;Trade Facilitation; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); Education; andHealth and Well-Being.
Currently, 101 projects are underway with total value of25.96 million USD. India, Germany, the EU and Japan are the leading sponsorsamong ASEAN’s partners.
In the time ahead, the IAI Task Force plans to continue speeding up theproject and soon launch 14 proposals which are being designed.
Atthe 9th Consultation Meeting of the IAI Task Force and ASEAN Partners, the IAITask Force briefed the partners of the implementation of the IAI Work Plan III.
Theprtners including Australia, Canada, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea,India, the US, and Switzerland lauded the outcomes of the IAI Work Plan III andgave a number of recommendations for the plan’s implementation, as well as thebuilding of the fourth phase of the plan.
Atthe meeting, ASEAN partners reaffirmed their commitments to support projectswithin the IAI framework, while stressing the significance of the initiative innarrowing the development gap among ASEAN countries and enhancing regionalintegration.
TheIAI was launched in 2000, aiming to help ASEAN’s newer member statesimplement ASEAN commitments and agreements. Through special assistance toCambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV countries), it aims to furtherregional integration in order to narrow the development gap within ASEAN.
The IAI has so far seen the adoption of two work plans. WorkPlan I, from 2002 to 2008, comprised 232 projects in four areas. Work Plan IIbegan in 2009, and includes 182 actions aligned with the three ASEAN CommunityBlueprints 2015.
IAI Work Plan III has been developed in close collaborationwith CLMV countries, other ASEAN Member States and stakeholders, and is alignedwith the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the various sectoral work plans./.
VNA
