JAKARTA, 31 MAY 2021 – The 6th Meeting of the ASEAN-Norway Joint Sectoral Cooperation Committee, held via videoconference, reaffirmed both sides’ commitment to deepen cooperation under ASEAN-Norway sectoral dialogue partnership.
ASEAN officials, represented by the Committee of Permanent Representatives in Jakarta, and Norwegian officials led by State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jens Frølich Holte, explored opportunities to further strengthen the cooperation in a number of areas. The areas included climate and environment; combating marine plastic debris; clean energy; smart cities; public health; sustainable development; rights of person with disabilities; rights of children to education; and technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
The meeting encouraged greater business-to-business contacts and development of projects and programmes related to narrowing the development gaps in the ASEAN region. In addition, both sides expressed interest in enhancing cooperation to promote people-to-people contacts, especially among the youth, as well as collaboration to address cybersecurity and support for the Network of ASEAN Chemical, Biological Radiological Threats.
Both sides also deliberated on possible joint activities to address and mitigate the COVID-19 socio-economic impact, as well as support for the implementation of the ASEAN Post-Pandemic Recovery Framework, including through contribution to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund. ASEAN encouraged Norway to support capacity building projects and programmes on medical waste management in the region.
The meeting took note that following the expiration of the Priority Plan for the ASEAN-Norway Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in March 2021, all action lines listed for implementation of the Priority Plan have been or are being addressed. These include projects and activities on human rights; peace, reconciliation, and security; energy; environment; youth; education; women empowerment; micro, small and medium enterprises; connectivity; and Initiative for ASEAN Integration.
The implementation of the Priority Plan successor document, namely ASEAN-Norway Sectoral Dialogue Partnership: Practical Cooperation Areas (PCA) 2021-2025, aimed at guiding and further enhancing ASEAN-Norway cooperation in the next five years, was also welcomed at the meeting.
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, followed by Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.Menu - WHAT WE DO
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The rodmap for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015) was declared by the leaders in 2009. The ASEAN Community, anchored on three community pillars: Political-Security Community, Economic Community, Socio-Cultural Community was launched in 2015. The ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together was introduced in 2015 as a Post-2015 Vision. It comprises the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2025, the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025
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