Secretary of the ASEAN Cooperation Directorate General at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry Vedi Kurnia Buana made the remarks during the opening of a Workshop and Coaching Clinic on Utilizing ATF and APF (Project Proposal Writing) in Cirebon, West Java.
In a written statement released on Monday, Buana underscored the importance of utilizing the ATF and APF to support the integration of the ASEAN Community, particularly to achieve the ASEAN vision and mission in 2025 -- moving forward together and implementing the ASEAN action plan with dialog partners in a concrete way.
The workshop and coaching clinic, which brought together 65 participants from 39 ministries and national institutions, was organized by the ASEAN Cooperation Directorate General at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry in cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat.
The activity was aimed at providing the ministries and national institutions with information on the availability of ATF and APF and the mechanism of using the fund.
For its part, the participants were trained to formulate good regional project proposals.
"Following the workshop and coaching clinic, the process of filing proposals, which was earlier considered complicated and difficult, will no longer be a hindrance to make use of the ATF and APF," he noted.
Through the workshop, the participants were trained intensively to formulate project proposals in accordance with the standard and manual set by ASEAN member states.
The absence of networking between ministries and national institutions in ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat was the reason behind the minimum use of ATF and APF for realizing the ASEAN vision and mission.
Indonesian Permanent Representative to ASEAN Ambassador Ade Padmo Sarwono also highlighted several issues that should draw attention for the effective utilization of ATF and APF.
"Cooperation projects must have an impact on the ASEAN and prioritize the principles of accountability and transparency. After completing projects, ministries and institutions must make a completion report and, if any, return the residual project fund," he added.
Reporting Yuni Arisandy
Editing by Suharto
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Andi Abdussalam
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