Vietnam attends meetings of ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee

Jakarta (VNA) - A Vietnamese delegation led by Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to ASEAN, attended meetings of the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC) held in a virtual format from August 23-25.

At the third meeting of the ACCC this year, countries welcomed progress made in the implementation of the ASEAN Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, although many projects face difficulties in the context of COVID-19. 

Delegates focused on measures to roll out recommendations by the Mid Term Review and voiced opinions for the third draft of the Progress Review Report for the MPAC 2025 to submit to the 30th meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) slated for October.

Particularly, 14 out of 15 initiatives in the master plan’s strategic areas, namely sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, seamless logistics, regulatory excellence and people mobility, are being carried out.

The fourth meeting on Monitoring, Review and Evaluation (MRE) of the MPAC 2025 saw the participation of representatives from relevant agencies in the implementation of 15 initiatives in the MPAC 2025.

With the projects’ cross-sectoral and cross-pillar characteristics, MRE promotes cohesiveness between agencies and raises awareness of sharing responsibilities in the implementation of initiatives and projects of the MPAC 2025. 

It is also to discuss and seek solutions to challenges and obstacles in the MPAC 2025 implementation.

At the ACC Consultations with Dialogue Partners and Other External Partners on Connectivity, heads of ASEAN partner nations spoke highly of ASEAN’s efforts in the recent past in promoting connectivity in the organisation and the region at large. 

They affirmed to further support ASEAN to carry out projects in the MPAC 2025 and others, in order to accelerate the building of the ASEAN Community and connection between ASEAN and partners, thereby stepping up recovery and economic development in the region.

The countries also discussed measures to promote the MPAC 2025 in the backdrop of COVID-19, underlining that strategic fields of the plan are in line with the ASEAN recovery plan in the post-pandemic period.

At the 28th ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, in September 2016, ASEAN leaders adopted the MPAC 2025 with a vision of a seamlessly and comprehensively connected and integrated ASEAN.

The ACCC was established to oversee, assess and make periodic reports to the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) and the ASEAN Summit on situation and challenges in implementing the MPAC 2025./.

VNA