VIENTIANE, 19 October 2016 - The ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC) held a consultation on ASEAN Connectivity with Dialogue Partners, namely Australia, Canada, China, European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and the United States of America, to socialise the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and discuss possible cooperation on Connectivity.

H.E. Ambassador Latsamy Keomany, Permanent Representative of Lao PDR to ASEAN and ACCC Chair, highlighted that MPAC 2025 will require partnerships with our Dialogue Partners and other external partners for effective implementation. We need an inclusive process that helps in defining the needs of ASEAN and the opportunities for our peoples and partners.

With the MPAC 2025 in place, ASEAN has commenced preparations in developing concepts and projects, and ensuring that they have the capacity to deliver the initiatives effectively. The ACCC also exchanged views with the Dialogue Partners on ways to harness expertise, leverage resources and enhance capacity building activities to support the operationalisation of the MPAC 2025.

A separate workshop will be convened in early 2017 to further develop the various MPAC 2025 initiatives into project proposals.