JAKARTA, 10 November 2021 – ASEAN and Australia held the 15th Joint Planning and Review Committee (JPRC) Meeting of the Second Phase of the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program (AADCP II), via videoconference on 8 November.
Ambassador Bovonethat Douangchak, Permanent Representative of Lao PDR to ASEAN, co-chaired the meeting with Will Nankervis, Australian Ambassador to ASEAN. Representatives from all ASEAN Member States were also in attendance.
Both ambassadors welcomed the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between ASEAN and Australia and expressed enthusiasm presiding for the first time as co-Chairs, with the Lao PDR taking over the Country Coordinator role for ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Relations (2021-2024) starting in August this year.
The meeting reviewed the ongoing implementation of the AADCP II for the period April 2020 until September 2021. AADCP II supports the ASEAN economic community pillar, connectivity and integration, including in the areas of consumer protection; services; investments; agriculture; connectivity; energy and minerals; financial integration; private sector engagement; micro, small and medium enterprise; support to narrowing development gaps, information and communication technology, and strengthening of the ASEAN Secretariat.
The Programme Management Team reported that in the reporting period, 81 projects were completed under the Rolling Prioritisation Plan (RPP). Further, the AADCP II reported that from April 2020 to September 2021, 13 new projects were initiated, with one new upcoming project on investment in the pipeline.
ASEAN and Australia expressed over-all satisfaction on the programme’s performance, including key highlights such as support for the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan IV 2021-2025, the Mid-Term Review of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, and the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Forum, among others. The 15th JPRC meeting approved the RPP 2020-2021 that will guide the implementation until 2022.
Australia has approved a third extension of the AADCP II until 31 December 2022 to complete on-going projects, enable effective utilisation of the unused budget and prepare for a successor programme designed to commence in mid-2022. The proposed extension is being reviewed by ASEAN Member States for their approval.
An overlap of the current and the successor programme is designed to provide seamless support for ASEAN priorities. Further, Ambassador Nankervis mentioned that the successor programme to AADCP II will be the first under the recently announced ‘Australia for ASEAN Futures Initiative’. Additional elements would be designed in close consultation with ASEAN.
The 14th JPRC Meeting was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic hence the RPP, covering period of April 2019 to May 2020, was approved through ad-referendum.
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