ASEAN-AUSTRALIA


Phase III of the ASEAN-Australia Economic Cooperation Programme (AAECP) was launched with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of the Member Countries of ASEAN and the Government of Australia in July 1994 during the 27th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok. Phase III of the AAECP will run for four years and expire in June 1998.

Following extensive preparations in 1993/1994 to programme Phase III of the AAECP, the period under review mostly focussed on preparing the Projects and Linkages Streams for implementation. In the case of the Projects Stream, feasibility study design teams were deployed to finalise project designs for proposal, endorsed by the Fifth Meeting of the Joint Planning Committee (JPC) held in March 1994 in Bangkok and the 16th ASEAN-Australia Forum held in May 1994 in Canberra. Project designs for the following projects have been finalised and are awaiting implementation pending an exchange of notes between the Country Coordinator and the Australian Government :

  1. Coastal Zone Environment and Resource Management Project;

  2. Wastewater Treatment Technology Transfer and Cleaner Production Demonstration Project;

  3. Environmentally Sound Energy Production and Waste Disposal for Biomass/Waste Supplemented by Fossil Fuels Project;

  4. ASEAN - Australia Forum Telecommunications Cooperation on Training Project; and,

  5. Development of Food Safety and Quality Assurance Systems for Marketing and Distribution of Fresh and Processed Horticultural Products in ASEAN.

The feasibility and design study for the project on "Electricity and the Environment: A Framework for Decision-Making in the ASEAN Region" as conducted in early 1995 and is expected to take place in mid 1995.

The Third Meeting of the AAECP JPC- SC held in November 1994 in Bandar Seri Begawan agreed in principle to recommend that the project on "Transboundary Pollution of Haze and Acidic Deposition in ASEAN Countries" (non-forest fire component) and noted the possibility that the proposal on "Feasibility Study for the ASEAN and Indochina Electricity Grid" may be included in the projects stream.

The year also witnessed the inception of the AAECP Linkages Stream Programme aimed at Promoting cooperative and joint activities involving private, research, academic and government sectors in ASEAN and Australia in the agreed priority sectors of environmental management, transportation, biotechnology, telecommunications/ information technology and agrobassed industries. The first round of applications closed in May 1994 and attracted twenty-one applications, of which six were appraised and accorded high priority by the First Joint Linkages Appraisal Panel (JLSAP) held in Jakarta in November 1994. The JLSAP is co-chaired by the ASEAN Secretariat and Australia and comprises ASEAN and Australian experts in the agreed priority sectors of the Linkages Stream. As of May 1995, two more rounds with a total of 45 applications were appraised by the Second a-id Third JLSAP Meetings. A fourth round of applications was held in March 1995 and is due to be appraised at the Fourth JLSAP Meeting in July 1995.

The Third Meeting of the Joint Planning Committee Sub-Committee (JPC- SC) held in November 1994 in Bandar Seri Begawan, agreed to adopt several measures aimed at further enhancing ASEAN participation in the Linkages Stream Programme, including, among others, intensifying publicity for the programme, translation of the Linkages Stream guidelines into the respective ASEAN languages, redesigning the application form into a more user-friendly form and requesting AIDAB (or AusAid since April 1995) to conduct a mid-term evaluation of the Linkages Stream Programme.

ASEAN-Australia cooperation on matters related to education and training and culture and information are pursued outside the AAECP umbrella. With respect to education and training, the past year witnessed the implementation of a project to compile a regional directory of professional organisations and qualifications recognition processes which would cover a range of professions. As agreed at the Working Group on Culture and Information convened during the 16th ASEAN-Australia Forum held in May 1994 in Canberra, exchanges of personnel would be expanded to include areas such as museum conservation and preservation, among others. The first collaborative project in the area of cuIture and information already implemented is the COCI project on ASEAN Training/Seminar on Film aid Video Archive Management. The project took place from 8 May to 3 June 1995 in Canberra under a cost-sharing arrangement with Australia.

During the Post Ministerial Meetings (PMC) following the 27th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) held in July 1994 in Bangkok, ASEAN and Australia exchanged views on, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation., the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (SEANWFZ), trade and investment and AFTA-CER relations.

An informal meeting between ASEAN and CER officials was held on 18 March 1995 to explore possibleareas for AFTA- CER cooperation. The Meeting , agreed that cooperation between the two regions would be mutually beneficial and identified several tentative areas for possible cooperation, including the exchange of information on various aspects of AFTA and CER implementation. It as also agreed that future consultations would discuss the mechanism for facilitating such cooperation in the priority areas.