At the ASEAN-Canada JMPC, held in Singapore in February 1997, Canada reaffirmed its commitment to its relations with ASEAN and announced its programmes to celebrate Canada's ties with the region under Canada's Year of Asia Pacific. This event will involve the Canadian Government, the private sector, Asian and Canadian youth, the academic community, non-governmental organisations and cultural institutions.

Canada emphasized that peoplecentred development programming, including human resource development and training, is a priority for CIDA in its collaboration with ASEAN. Canada's development cooperation programme also has a strong focus on the role of women as vital contributors to their economies.

ASEAN-Canada relations are increas-ingly emphasizing the principle of partnership in on-going and future initiatives, the participation of the private sector and non-governmental organisations, and the need for flexibility and innovation in the project approval process.

Highlights of the project activities and events that have taken place since the last JPMC include the completion of two projects under the Regional Training Programme, namely, Seminar/Workshop on Telecommunications Regulatory Environment in May 1996 and Study Tour/Visit to Canadian Institutions on Micro-Electronics in November 1996.

The 11th ASEAN-Canada JCC, held in Montreal in May 1997, saw an exchange of views on regional and international economic issues. Among these were the G-7 Summit in Denver, APEC, ASEM, Mekong Basin Cooperation, ASEAN economic cooperation and drugs and narcotics control. In view of diminishing financial resources and the imminent expansion of ASEAN, both parties agreed to review the future direction of the JCC. The JCC also noted that the Second JMPC had agreed to seek innovative, flexible and efficient ways of engaging in development cooperation in line with the increasing diversity and changing development needs of ASEAN. Such approaches could include joint ASEAN-Canada planning missions, trilateral cooperation where ASEAN countries and Canada jointly support development initiatives with partners in ASEAN and more proactive collaboration in the development of projects in which there is mutual agreement.

Other highlights of the ASEAN-Canada relations over the past year include the successful AIFM Forest Fire Management Conference, an on-going Vietnam Forestry Inventory and Planning Institute training with AIFM, the extension of the ASEAN-Canada Marine Sciences Project and the inclusion of Vietnam into this agreement together with the Economic Cooperation Agreement on the margins of the ASEAN-PMC in July 1996. The ASEAN Marine Environmental Science Management Conference and the ASEAN-Canada Fisheries Post-Harvest Technology Conference, We Assure Quality, were other efforts involving the North American Dialogue Partner.