The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Myanmar hosted the Training in Project Management for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) Officers on August 12-14 in Nay Pyi Taw.

The training was a joint effort of the ASEAN Affairs Department of MOFA Myanmar, the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat particularly the Programme Cooperation and Project Management Division, the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) Management Team and the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) of the Philippines. It aims to enhance the skills of CLMV officials in project cycle management as well as in developing ASEAN Cooperation Projects.

The training is designed to support the implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan III, which aims “to assist the CLMV countries to meet ASEAN-wide targets and commitments towards realising the goals of the ASEAN Community.” It is supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund.

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The opening ceremony of the “Training in Project Management for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam (CLMV) Officers” was held yesterday at the Park Royal Hotel, Nay Pyi Taw.

At the opening ceremony, U Min Lwin, Myanmar Permanent Representative to ASEAN, delivered welcoming remarks followed by opening remarks by Mr. Kazuo Sunaga, Japanese Ambassador to ASEAN. At the ceremony, a keynote address was given by U Myint Thu, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Present at the opening ceremony were senior officials from the Government of Myanmar, representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat and training participants from CLMV.

In the evening, U Hau Khan Sum, Director-General of ASEAN Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the Welcome Dinner to the guests and training participants. The training programme was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar and Permanent Mission of Myanmar to ASEAN, with the support of the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI). The program aims to enhance the skills of officials from the CLMV countries in project management through lectures, practical and sharing sessions, case studies, and group work/exercise. A total of 55 participants: 25 representatives from different Ministries of Myanmar and 30 representatives from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam are taking part in the three-day training.

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The ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) 10+1 Sessions with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners, namely Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America were held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 31 July to 1 August 2019.

The Meeting welcomed Japan’s continued commitments to supporting ASEAN’s integration efforts and reaffirmed the commitment to further strengthen the ASEAN-Japan Strategic Partnership and enhance cooperation through the effective implementation of the Revised Implementation Plan of the 2013 Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and the Joint Statement of the 21st

ASEAN-Japan Summit to Commemorate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation. The Meeting appreciated Japan’s continued support and contributions towards ASEAN’s development, including the implementation of the IAI Work Plan III through the additional contribution of 1 billion JPY to the component of JAIF 2.0 under the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) in March 2019 as well as the adaptation of “Tokyo Strategy 2018” at the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit Meeting and expressed their expectation for its reinforcement.

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On August 1, the Japan-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting was held in Bangkok, the Kingdom of Thailand. Foreign Minister Kono Taro attended the meeting. The overview of the meeting, with a focus on the statements by Minister Kono, is as follows. Minister Kono co-chaired the meeting with H.E. Mr. Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam.

On behalf of ASEAN, Deputy Prime Minister Minh reviewed the outcome of Japan ASEAN cooperation in such fields as political and security, economy, and socio-cultural, and expressed his expectation for further progress of Japan-ASEAN cooperation. ASEAN countries also expressed their appreciation and hope for Japan’s support in various areas such as support for ASEAN’s integration through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), disaster management cooperation through the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Center), capacity building, and people-to-people exchanges. Minister Kono stated that Japan fully supports the theme of Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship: “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability” and Japan hopes to issue a leaders’ joint statement on connectivity, with a view to enhancing ASEAN connectivity. Minister Kono added that Japan will host the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) in Yokohama this October, and that Japan also will host 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Kyoto in April next year. Referring to the contribution made by Japan Foundation Asia Centre thus far, Minister Kono stated that he would like to discuss with ASEAN countries to further advance such exchanges.

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On July 22, H.E. Kazuo Sunaga, Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN, attended the Opening Ceremony of The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) Executive Programme (ACE Programme) Sixth Batch held in Jakarta, and welcomed the 18 new participants. The ceremony was attended by H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Ms. Adelina Kamal, Executive Director of the AHA Centre, and Ambassadors of ASEAN dialogue partners.

At his opening remarks, Ambassador Sunaga told that it is grateful to witness the participation from all 10 ASEAN Member States for the first time and expressed his hope that the participants will become a big supporter of the AHA Centre as executive officers of national disaster management offices (NDMOs) in the future.

The ACE Programme is an over four-month training for future leaders of NDMOs in ASEAN countries conducted by the AHA Centre. The Programme is supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). The Programme commenced in 2014, and the Sixth Batch has just commenced.

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