The 17th ASEAN Transport Ministers meeting in Phnom Penh on Dec. 15 issued a joint statement looking towards the ASEAN Community with air and sea linkages and facilitation of transport in the region.
According to the statement, the one-day meeting adopted a framework on implementation of the ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASAM), including liberalisation of aviation transport, common standards and practices on safety, security and harmonisation of management for ASAM.
The meeting signed the Protocol No.6 on Railways Border and Interchange Stations of the Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit, considered as a major step in the region’s effort to facilitate travel of cross-border trains in the region.
The ministers acknowledged activities on building the strategy on implementation of the ASEAN single sea transport market undertaken by the maritime working group.
On transport cooperation with partners, they were pleased with progress in implementing strategic cooperative programmes with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, as well as Germany and the European Union over past years, according to the statement.
The 10 th ASEAN-China Transport Ministers’ Meeting, the 9 th ASEAN-Japan Transport Ministers’ Meeting and the 3 rd ASEAN-RoK Transport Ministers’ Meeting are scheduled to take place on Dec. 16.
The 18 th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting will be held in Indonesia in 2012.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
On the sidelines of the 17 th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting, Vietnamese Transport Minister Dinh La Thang met with his Cambodian counterpart, Tram Iv Tek. Thang is scheduled to met with the head of the Japanese delegation on Dec. 16./.
Source: en.vietnamplus.vn