New Video Series Promotes ASEAN Connectivity Awareness and Education ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®® NAY PYI TAW, 9 August 2014 -As ASEAN approaches the all-important 2015 milestone marking the realisation of the ASEAN Community, the Association launched a new video series on ASEAN Connectivity to raise awareness of the opportunities and benefits of a weI/-connected region. The video series was launched on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) on 9 August in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The videos are designed to help businesses, academia, the media, and the public across ASEAN and around the world better understand the ASEAN Connectivity vision, the progress made to date, and the future economic and social impacts created by a truly connected region. The videos showcase and explain the vision, rationale and progress made in advancing ASEAN Connectivity. There is also a video dedicated to building awareness of the opportunities that ASEAN Connectivity brings to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the services and programs available to them. SMEs are an especially important part of ASEANs collective regional economy, representing 90 percent of companies in ASEAN and accounting for more than 90 percent of domestic employment. The launch was officiated by Foreign Minister of Myanmar H.E. U Wunna Maung Lwin representing Myanmar as the 2014 Chair of ASEAN, the Secretary-General of ASEAN H.E. Mr. Le Luong Minh, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia the Honorable Julie Bishop. In his speech, Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin emphasized that connectivity will complement and support integration within ASEAN, and also within the broader regional framework and beyond. ASEAN Connectivity is the catalyst for ASEAN Member States to realise the vision, power and prosperity of a unified ASEAN Community. The Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity is the strategic roadmap that sets forth important development objectives in three key dimensions essential to realizing the ASEAN Connectivity opportunity. The three key dimensions include Physical Connectivity, which includes improving critical hard infrastructure projects crucial for increased logistics and transportation efficiency; Institutional Connectivity which focuses on areas such as trade, investment, services and regulatory issues and People-to-People Connectivity, which works to deepen social, cultural and educational initiatives and improve access and mobility for people across the ASEAN region. This 11-part video series uses design and animation the estimated $600 billion in investment needed over the next 10 years to make our ultimate vision a reality. The video series was created by the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee with support provided by the Australian Government as a key event to commemorate the 40th ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Relations. In her statement, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, The Honorable Julie Bishop, said am pleased Australia has been able to support ASEANs connectivitY project through the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program. This program aims to build greater economic and social links between nations through infrastructure, trade and cultural exchanges. The videos will be shared through multiple channels and can be viewed and downloaded at asean.org as well as at ASEAN Facebook and YouTube.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 03:33:34 +0000