Ambassador Nguyen Hoanh Nam, Head of the Vietnamese PermanentRepresentative delegation to the ASEAN made the statement at thesecond meeting of the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC)that took place in Parapat, Indonesia, on June 7 and 8.
The Ambassador confirmed that priority will continuously be given toprojects on strengthening connections in terms of infrastructure,education and human resources training in the Sub-Mekong region.
The MPAC, which was approved during the 17th ASEAN Summit held inHanoi in 2010, sets three pillars for strengthening regionalconnectivity on infrastructure, institutions, and people via 125 actionplans.
They include 55 projects on regionaltraffic system networks, telecommunications and the power grid; 50 ondeveloping a favourable legal framework for regional trade and theinvestment environment; and 20 on education cooperation, human resourcestraining, and cultural and tourism exchanges.
Reports made during the meeting showed that of the 125 total actionplans, 24 have been completed, 50 are expected to be completed withinthis year and the rest are facing either financial or managementdifficulties.
Participants suggested applyingthe public-private partnership (PPP) model in implementing the MPAC andincluding MPAC projects in national development programmes.
They also called for the ACCC to strengthen their coordination roleand cooperation with National Coordinating Commitees in monitoring andsupervising the implementation process.
Promotion activities should also be expanded to draw the attention andparticipation of partner countries, international financialorganisations and businesses.
During the event,participants also discussed the Post-2015 Agenda for ASEAN Connectivityand agreed upon the schedule for regular meetings between the ACCC andits partners including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India andthe European Union late this year.
The third 2015 ACCC meeting is scheduled to take place in September in Malaysia.-VNA