JAKARTA, 20 November 2023 – ASEAN and France reaffirmed their commitment to reinforce cooperation at the Third Meeting of the ASEAN-France Development Partnership Committee, held today at the ASEAN Headquarters.
The meeting noted the progress made in ASEAN-France’s cooperation following the inception of their formal partnership in 2021. Both sides were pleased to note significant progress made in the implementation of the ASEAN-France Practical Cooperation Areas (2022-2026), covering areas such as political-security, transport, climate change, sustainable marine environment, people-to-people exchanges, disaster management, and promotion of air quality.
Furthermore, the meeting explored opportunities to further enhance cooperation in various areas of mutual interest, including peace and reconciliation, security cooperation, energy, food security, public health, biodiversity, environmental protection, culture, media and information, connectivity, and sustainable development.
At the margin of the meeting, senior officials from both sides welcomed the official launch of the Air Quality Improvement Program in ASEAN (AQIP) project. The project focuses on developing comprehensive public policies to address air quality issues in the region through the development, publication and dissemination of regional studies and guidelines to manage air pollution, capacity building on air quality monitoring and study visits to exchange best practices between ASEAN and Europe.
The AQIP project is the largest ASEAN-France cooperation project to date, with funding of EUR 2.5 million from the French Development Agency.
“The project is very timely in supporting ASEAN’s continuing efforts to strengthen capacity in monitoring and managing air pollution in the region,” said Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Political-Security Community, Michael Tene, who served as co-chair of the 3rd AF-DPC Meeting.
The French co-chair, Ambassador of France to ASEAN, Fabien Penone stated that “France is proud to launch the AQIP project, as the first large-scale cooperation programme under the ASEAN-France Development Partnership. It shows France’s commitment to ASEAN, to the region and to sustainable development”.
The 3rd AF-DPC Meeting was attended by members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN and/or their representatives, officials from France and the ASEAN Secretariat. The Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to ASEAN also attended as an observer.
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