Two new programmes to enhance ASEAN-EU Cooperation in the fields of Statistics and Border Management were agreed through the signing of Financing Agreements amounting to 6-million euros and 4.7-million euros respectively, by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Commission on 1 July 2008.

The EU-ASEAN Statistical Capacity Building Programme, a four-year programme, will support ASEAN integration by facilitating enhanced production of more accurate and relevant statistics for more evidence-based decision-making.

The EU-ASEAN Migration and Border Management Programme, a four-year programme, will support the development of an Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) in order to facilitate the legal movements of goods and persons, and at the same time, better combat transnational crime. When implemented, it could result in a strengthened regional institutional network between police and customs officials, prosecutors and judges. It could also enhance the exchange of information between Interpol National Central Bureaus in the ASEAN capitals and ICPO-Interpol headquarters.

The implementation of both programmes is expected to start in early 2009.

Details about these programmes can be found in the attached fact sheet.