The Philippine Permanent Representative to ASEAN, Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso was the Keynote Speaker at the 5th ASEAN Connectivity Forum organized by the ASEAN-Korea Center and the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on 29-30 November in Seoul, ROK.
In her message, Ambassador Buensuceso highlighted the increased level of relations between ASEAN and Korea, particularly the results of the recent ASEAN-ROK Summit held in Manila. She explained how Korea could effectively participate in the focused implementation of the Master Pan in ASEAN Community (MPAC) 2025 in the five (5) strategic areas of sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, seamless logistics, regulatory excellence and people mobility. She gave detailed descriptions of the key initiatives under each strategic area. Korea has expressed its interest in Initiative 14 which is the Study of Vocational Skills Gaps and Technical and Vocational Educational and Training (TVET) Standards and Programmes in the ASEAN Region. Ambassador Buensuceso also invited Korea to consider Initiative 4 on the Review of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s) in the Digital Economy, and Initiative 8 on the Development of an ASEAN Database on Logistics and Trade Routes.
The Ambassador underscored the institutional arrangements and coordination mechanisms among ASEAN and its stakeholders to establish clearer ownership and to ensure a high rate of the Master Plan’s implementation.
Ambassador Buensuceso lauded the ASEAN-Korea Center for its role in facilitating trade and investment, people-to-people exchanges and connectivity between the regional group and the ROK.
High-level officials who gave remarks during the event included H.E. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of the National Development Planning of Indonesia; H.E. Kim Young-sun, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre; Mr. Kim Jun-dong, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and H.E. Cho Hyun, Vice Minster of the Foreign Affairs of ROK. All speakers agreed on the need to intensify ASEAN-ROK cooperation on Connectivity.
Other Philippine officials also made impressive presentations on Transportation and Connectivity-related infrastructure projects in Philippines and the ASEAN Region. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Atty. Ruth Castelo spoke on H.E. President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s 0-to-10 point socio-economic agenda, with a focus on ease of doing business and infrastructure development, as well as the Build! Build! Build! Infrastructure initiative highlighting public infrastructure spending, opportunities for investors and business, and foreign equity participation in government and private projects. Atty. Florinda Inoturan of the PPP Center briefed on the Philippine’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program, its mandate, progress, successes, and potential entry points for engagement. The business matching segment of the Forum gathered a number of interested Korean companies who inquired about investing in the Philippines.
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