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| Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to ASEAN Ambassador Tôn Thị Ngọc Hương speaks at the meeting on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo |
JAKARTA — Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to ASEAN Ambassador Tôn Thị Ngọc Hương chaired the 15th Consultation Meeting of the ASEAN Integration Initiative (IAI) Task Force-ASEAN Partners in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 11.
The meeting brought together all ASEAN dialogue partners, sectoral and development partners.
In her opening remarks, Ambassador Hương stressed that over the past 25 years, the IAI has remained one of ASEAN’s flagship initiatives, focusing on promoting inclusive regional integration and enhancing the capacities of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Việt Nam (CLMV), and more recently Timor-Leste.
The meeting provides an opportunity to reaffirm both ASEAN member states' and partners' commitment to strengthening cooperation and narrowing development gaps, which remain a challenge in building the ASEAN Community 2045 and advancing regional integration, she said.
ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General for Economic Community Satvinder Singh provided an update on the progress of the IAI Work Plan IV (2021–2025), which encompasses 114 projects worth a total of US$24.8 million, with a 70.8 per cent completion rate.
ASEAN partners have supported 28 projects valued at $18.3 million, covering all five strategic areas: food and agriculture; trade facilitation; micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); education; and health and well-being. The IAI Task Force thanked the partners’ contributions to narrowing development gaps through the initiative.
Partners commended the progress of the Work Plan IV (2021-2025) and Việt Nam’s active role as Chair of the IAI Task Force in 2025. They vowed to assist ASEAN in realising the Work Plan IV, scheduled to conclude later this year.
The inclusion of Timor-Leste as an IAI beneficiary was warmly welcomed, with partners expressing optimism that its participation would bolster its journey toward full ASEAN membership while helping close development gaps with other member states. — VNA/VNS