PRESS RELEASE
No.	PR/21-27	Date
Contact	Contents Inquiries: Kim Su-jung, Senior Officer, TIU (+82-2-2287-1192, sjkim@aseankorea.org) Press Inquiries: Bak Chae-rin, PR Officer, IDU (+82-2-2287-1146, crbak@aseankorea.org)
ASEAN-Korea Centre is an International Organization mandated to promote economic and socio-cultural cooperation between ASEAN Member States and Korea.

ASEAN Connectivity and ASEAN-Korea Partnership in the Post COVID-19 era

- The ASEAN-Korea Centre to organize the 9th ASEAN Connectivity Forum online -

- Opening Ceremony & Project Presentations : 18-19 Jan. / Online business meeting 24 Jan. - 11 Feb -

Seoul, Korea - The ASEAN-Korea Centre (Secretary General Kim Hae-yong), together with International Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK), will hold the 9th ASEAN Connectivity Forum on 18-19 January 2022. The Forum will be held online, focusing on ‘sustainable infrastructure’ and ‘digital innovation.’ The two focus areas are drawn from the five strategic areas in the ASEAN’s ‘Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025’*, a regional blueprint aimed at achieving a more connected and integrated ASEAN.

* MPAC 2025 was adopted at the 28th ASEAN Summit in 2016, a year after the establishment of the ASEAN Community, in a bid to support regional integration centering on five strategic areas: sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, seamless logistics, regulatory excellence, and people mobility.

The two-day Forum will begin on the 18th with a keynote presentation by H.E. Lee Seong-ho, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs(RoK), and by H.E.Yeap Samnang, Chair of ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee and Permanent Representative of Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN on the progress and some of the challenges facing connectivity projects during the pandemic. Following the keynote session, a panel discussion will take place on the way forward for ASEAN connectivity in the post-COVID era and on ways to promote bankability of various connectivity projects. Speakers include experts from the ASEAN Secretariat, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Korea Office of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the Export-Import Bank of Korea.

On the 19th, ASEAN-ROK Programme Management Team (AKPMT) from Jakarta will open the session with a detailed presentation on ways to utilize the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF) for connectivity projects. Project presentations from ASEAN Member States in the transport, energy, and smart cities sectors will follow. Interested organizations or businesses are highly encouraged to apply for the 1:1 online business meeting, which will be held from 24 January-11 February for those who pre-registered via the forum’s official website.

The leaders of ASEAN Member States and Korea emphasized stronger cooperation on connectivity including in the area of smart cities during the 22nd ASEAN-ROK Summit held in November last year. Moreover, Cambodia, the Chair country of ASEAN in 2022, has also stressed cooperation in ASEAN connectivity stating that ‘[i]t is important to strengthen the physical and digital connectivity so that ASEAN can be an attractive trade and investment partner.” Against this backdrop, the annual ASEAN Connectivity Forum hosted by the ASEAN-Korea Centre is expected to contribute to the development of the mutually beneficial economic partnership between ASEAN and Korea by promoting participation of Korean companies in ASEAN’s numerous connectivity projects.

The 9th ASEAN Connectivity Forum is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea and the ASEAN Secretariat.

.Click here to pre-register