The 33 rd ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting (STOM) took place inBandung in the Indonesia province of West Java , , from May 22to May 25 to finalise the master plan on ‘ASEAN Connectivity.’

If agreed on, the plan will be a major boost to shipping, rail and air networks in the region.

Inhis opening speech, Indonesia ’s Transport Minister E.E Mangindaansaid that the meeting focused on discussing ways of helping ASEAN membercountries to implement their plan synchronously and speed up projectswithin the master plan framework.

Priority will begiven to an ASEAN highway network, a Singapore Kunming railway line, aplan and feasibility study on a roll-on roll-off nautical transportationnetwork and shorter shipping lanes, he added.

Regarding anASEAN open-sky target by 2015, Minister Mangindaan said that all membercountries should ensure that airlines are ready and able to make airtravel across the ASEAN region fully integrated.

The Minister said that if an air, land and maritime transport networkcan be fully realised, he believes that ASEAN can be a regional power.

On air travel, the delegates discussed the commitments onair transport services and a single ASEAN aviation market, whichincludes economic and technical cooperation.

They agreedthat the outcomes from the meeting will pave the way for partnershipswith China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, all of whom havedemonstrated a willingness to support ASEAN’s connectivity plan.-VNA