Jakarta (VNA) - The Initiative for ASEANIntegration (IAI) Task Force convened its 64th meeting via videoconference on June 22under the chair of Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang, Permanent Representative of Vietnamto ASEAN and Chair of the Task Force in 2021.  

 It was a regular meeting of ASEAN permanentrepresentatives to review projects within the IAI framework and put forward solutions to improve theefficiency of IAI work plans, including the completion of the IAI Work Plan III(2016 - 2020) and the launch of the IAI Work Plan IV (2021 - 2025) which wasadopted in late 2020.

To date, 23 out of 26 action lines of the IAI Work Plan IIIhave been implemented in five strategic areas of  “Food and Agriculture”, “Trade Facilitation”,“Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)”, “Education”, and “Health andWell-being”.

Currently, 133 projects have been approved and implementedwith total capital of 42.87 million USD. By the end of the work plan on July 31,four additional projects will be designed to complete the remaining threeaction lines.

At the meeting, the Task Force approved four new projects forthe IAI Work Plan IV (2021 - 2025), raising the total number of projects for theperiod to 21, of which 17 funded by Singapore, two by Japan, one by Australian,and one co-funded by Singapore and Japan.

At the meeting, Bang lauded the progress of IAI projects aswell as outcomes of the regional conference on IAI on May 21 and a forum on theimplementation of the IAI Work Plan IV on June 8. He said they are the premisesfor the effective implementation of IAI projects in the time to come.

The Task Force agreed to speed up the launch of the IAIWork Plan IV and planned to hold its 65th meeting as well as the 11thConsultation Meeting of the IAI Task Force and ASEAN Partners inSeptember.

The IAI was launched in 2000 with a view to narrowing thedevelopment gap and helping CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, andVietnam), which were new members, fully integrate into the regional economy./.