Asean is preparing to create a master plan to promote connectivity among member countries as well as to prevent negative impacts from connectivity in the region, an official at the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
The High Level Task Force on Asean Connectivity will hold its third meeting in Bangkok this weekend to prepare a master plan for endorsement by Asean leaders in the coming summit in Hanoi in October, said the ministry's DirectorGeneral of Asean Affairs, Itti Ditbanjong.
The Master Plan on Asean Connectivity aims to provide a framework for regional cooperation on connectivity and to provide a foundation for further connectivity with other regions such as East Asia and South Asia, he said.
Ultimately, the master plan would realise the goal of achieving an Asean Community by 2015, Itti said.
The Asean connectivity project was initiated by Thailand when the country held the rotation chairmanship of the group last year, with the purpose of enhancing Asean community building and increasing the competitiveness of the group.
To achieve the goal, the task force was set up to draft the master plan. It held two previous meetings in Hanoi and Jakarta in March and May respectively. The final draft of the master plan will be ready by September for the leaders' consideration in October, Itti said.
The meeting in Bangkok from today through Monday will consider important connectivity projects such as the Asean Highway initiative, the construction of the SingaporeKunming rail link and strategies for an Asean single shipping market and an Asean single aviation market, Itti said.
Representatives from the Asian Development Bank, the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the World Bank will also attend the meeting.
The master plan will be comprehensive, covering all aspects of connectivity, not only hardware infrastructure but also software, such as crossborder regulations, he said.
"The negative side of connectivity, such as smuggling and trafficking in narcotics, goods and humans will be included in the master plan," Itti said.
Asean connectivity will also be an issue for discussion during the Asean Ministerial Meeting from July 1923 in Hanoi, he said.
The Hanoi meeting of Asean foreign ministers will consider many documents to push forward its plan to build Asean community. The documents include a draft of a fiveyear working plan of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, Itti said.