Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Transportation Ministry took part in the 40th Meeting of the ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group (MTWG) held virtually for on Mar 9-10.

The meeting's agenda covered discussions on the implementation of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) at ASEAN ports, the ministry's Acting Head of Sub-Directorate for Foreign Sea Transportation, Yudhonur Setyaji, noted in a release here on Wednesday.

Attendees at the 40th ASEAN MTWG meeting comprised all ASEAN members, with the Government of Thailand as the host.

Deputy Director General of the Marine Department of Thailand Somchai Sumanuskajonkul chaired the meeting and was assisted by Director of Vietnam's International Cooperation Department, Tran Thi Tuyet Mai Anh, as the vice chairman.

Discussions at the meeting also encompassed building a national coordination mechanism between infrastructure at ports and roads to facilitate better access to ports.

The Indonesian Government is required to follow up on the results of the meeting's discussions on enhancing the capacity of 47 ports, including 14 Indonesian ports, and the development of operations and continuity of the RoRo ferry shipping route for Dumai (Indonesia)-Melaka (Malaysia) and also Bitung (North Sulawesi, Indonesia)-Davao/General Santos (the Philippines).

The MTWG is the main coordinating and implementing arm of the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting (STOM) that advances maritime transport-related programs, projects, and activities under the Kuala Lumpur Transport Strategic Plan 2016-2025 (KLTSP). The KLTSP is a 10-year masterplan for the ASEAN transport sector targeted at boosting regional economic integration.

Through the ASEAN MTWG, the ASEAN member countries will work together with dialog partners, such as China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, as well as international partners, such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regarding mutual interests to increase connectivity, efficiency, safety, and sustainability in maritime transport.

Results of the ASEAN MTWG meeting will be conveyed at a higher meeting level -- the Senior Transport Officials Meeting (STOM) -- that will further be reported at the ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting (ATM).

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Translator: Adimas RFP, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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