ASEAN-UNDP

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As the only multilateral organization Dialogue Partner of ASEAN, UNDP has provided most of the technical assistance to ASEAN in the area of capacity-building and institutional development. Under the ASEAN - UNDP Sub-Regional Programme Cycle Five (ASP-5) covering the period 1992-1996, the amount of US$ 5.8 million has been allocated to assist ASEAN in five areas, namely :

1. liberalization and promotion of trade and investment including the implementation of AFTA;
   
   
2. technology;
   
   
3. trade and the environment;
   
   
4. human resource development; and
   
   
5. capacity building in the ASEAN Secretariat.

For each of these areas, a sub-programme has been formulated to provide focus and direction. The sub-programmes were based on plans of action and other framework documents endorsed by various ASEAN Ministerial Meetings and other relevant ASEAN bodies, such as the ASEAN Plan of Action on Science and Technology, ASEAN Work Programme for the Implementation of AFTA, ASEAN Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment, and the Resolution on the ASEAN Plan of Action for Children.

All the Sub-Programmes have been endorsed by the relevant ASEAN bodies and have been submitted to UNDP for approval. The implementation of sub-programme activities would commence in July 1994.

Meanwhile, the Capacity-Building Sub- Programme will address the consolidation of ASEAN's newly restructured institutional arrangements and develop new management systems and procedures for ASEAN's technical cooperation programme.

Within the scope of this sub-programme, studies and reviews will be conducted, to streamline ASEAN mechanisms, improve ASEAN institutional arrangements, improve the financial system for technical cooperation programme management, and establish a management information system for ASEAN economic cooperation. Training programmes for programme and project managers in Member Countries and the ASEAN Secretariat support staff will also be conducted.

Under the Sub-Programme on Liberalization and Promotion of Trade and Investment, UNDP will provide ASEAN with technical assistance in the implementation and monitoring of AFTA. In line with the Work Programme for the Implementation of AFTA approved by Senior Economic Officials Meeting, the Sub-Programme will provide technical assistance for the harmonization of tariff nomenclature, customs valuation and procedures, and industrial impact studies.

Recognizing the important inter-relationship between trade and the environment, UNDP is committed to supporting a Sub-Programme in this area. The Sub-Programme on Trade and the Environment is intended to establish the foundation for coordinating trade and environment policies in ASEAN. In working towards this goal, the Sub- Programme will organize training workshops to familiarize government officials, private sector representatives, academics and NGOs on the inter- relationship between trade and trade environment. A study will be conducted on the multilateral and unilateral use of trade measures to secure environmental objectives. The current activities of GATT and the OECD in this area will also be reviewed. At the same time, a survey of responses of Member Countries to the use of trade - environment measures will be carried out. The completion of this survey will provide basic information to develop recommendations for an ASEAN-wide policy on trade and the environment. This Sub- Programme will also produce a feasibility study for a formal modelling exercise to capture economic and environment interactions. The completed feasibility study will be submitted to the ASEAN Dialogue Partners for consideration.

The Sub-Programme on Technology has been designed to provide assistance to ASEAN in technology development and upgrading. It will provide support in operationalizing the 1994 ASEAN PI an of Action on Science and Technology by developing mechanisms to promote sustainable, self- reliant and regionally relevant technology cooperation in ASEAN. In addition, a set of ASEAN science and technology indicators will be developed as a means of monitoring and measuring S&T development in ASEAN and as a resource for policy formulation. The Sub-Programme will also look into alternative approaches to technological development and various financing schemes to sustain information exchange and dissemination activities of ASEAN S&T cooperation,

In view of the need to further stimulate the participation of the private sector, the Sub-Programme has included an element that will assess the barriers and opportunities for public-private collaboration in regional S&T cooperation. The activities being planned include forums for presenting R&D results to the S&T community in ASEAN and Dialogue countries.

Under the fifth Sub-Programme on Human Development, many activities are being planned. They include the monitoring of social trends through a set of social indicators and the establishment of a mechanism to facilitate the sharing of information between the ASEAN Secretariat and Member Countries. The design and implementation of an ASEAN University Network will be undertaken to develop cooperation in study and research programmes. The sub-programme will, among others, evaluate the impact of AFTA on social development, study the promotion of self-employment and development in the informal sector and the promotion of occupational health.

To help tackle the pressing problems of AIDS and drug abuse in the ASEAN region, the Sub-Programme will also assist in operationalising the draft ASEAN Plan of Action on Drug Abuse Control and to develop strategies for including NGOs in the campaign against AIDS in ASEAN.