The two-day 15 th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting (ATM 15), concluded in Hanoion Dec. 11, agreed to enhance transport linkage between regional countries thusstrengthening the ASEAN community by 2015.

ASEAN members will fund andbuild an infrastructure to facilitate regional transport connection.

Participants at the meeting also agreed to increase community capacityin international integration.

The results from the conference marked amilestone in creating transport linkage between ASEAN members, Minister ofTransport Ho Nghia Dung said at a press briefing after the closing ceremony.

ASEAN and three dialogue countries, including Japan, the Republic ofKorea and China reached cooperation agreements.

The eighth ASEAN + ChinaTransport Ministerial Meeting approved a plan to implement the strategiccooperation plan between the two sides and agreed to accelerate theimplementation of cooperative projects.

The Transport Ministry of Chinasaid the country has pledged 10 billion USD investment in ASEAN infrastructurefacilities and a 15 billion USD credit for ASEAN members’ transport sector.

At the seventh ASEAN + Japan meeting, transport ministers passed a jointstatement, which consisted of two initiatives on the ASEAN-Japan action plan onenvironment improvement in the transport sector and guidelines for theASEAN-Japan transport database.

The 16 th ATM and future meetingsbetween ASEAN transport ministers and partners will take place in Brunei in late2010./.