According to a press release from the ASEAN Secretariat received here on Friday, the ASEAN Economic Ministers were updated on the projects` progress at the 13th Ministerial Meeting of the ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation (AMBDC) held in Manado on Friday on the sideline of the 43rd ASEAN Economic Ministerial Meeting which began on Aug 10 and will end on Aug 14.
The ministers were informed that as of August 10, 2011, there were 51 projects under the AMBDC with fourteen projects still requiring funding totalling US$272.5 million. These projects are diverse in areas and cover those of infrastructure, trade and investment, agriculture, forestry and minerals, industry, tourism, human resource development, as well as science and technology.
The AMBDC provides a critical link to the development cooperation framework of the countries surrounding the Mekong River`s banks. The AMBDC`s overall objectives are to advance ASEAN integration by enhancing economically sound and sustainable development of the Mekong basin.
In doing so, it encourages a process of dialogue and common project identification to achieve economic partnerships for mutual benefit. It also strengthens interconnections and economic linkages between the ASEAN Member States and the Mekong countries, including China.
The 13th AMBDC Meeting, which was chaired by Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu was attended by economic ministers from the ASEAN member countries and Li Pumin, Deputy Secretary-General, National Development and Reform Commission, the People`s Republic of China who was representing the Commission`s Vice Chairman, Du Ying.
The last Ministerial Meeting on AMBDC was held on August 27 last year in Da Nang, Viet Nam. It was established in 1996 and meets annually. The next AMBDC Ministerial Meeting will be held in Cambodia in late August next year.
(T.A051/HAJM/S012)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
