The 2013 ASEAN Connectivity Forum was held in Seoul , the Republic of Korea (RoK) on October 21-22 to discuss ways to enhance ASEAN connectivity as well as boost bilateral cooperation in the process.

The forum, co-organised by the ASEAN-Korea Centre and the International Contractors Association of Korea, drew the participation of 25 delegates from ASEAN, including government officials in charge of connectivity projects, ASEAN Secretariat and Asian Development Bank (ADB), and around 100 representatives from leading businesses in the RoK, regional and international organisations.

Highlighting the RoK’s contributions to infrastructure development in ASEAN, the forum focused on such topics as the current status and challenges of implementing the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) and utilising the Public Private Partnership (PPP).

In addition, delegates also discussed concrete infrastructure plans and major projects of each ASEAN member state, possibilities of cooperation between the grouping and RoK businesses, establishment of networks with ASEAN government officals and search for new business opportunities.

Adopted at the 17 th ASEAN Summit in 2010, the MPAC has made continuous progress to enhance physical, institutional, and people-to-people connectivity.

Physical connectivity constitutes mainly transportation, energy and ICT matters, especially the ASEAN Highway Network (AHN) and Singapore-Kunming Rail Link (SKRL) projects.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei , Cambodia , Indonesia , Malaysia , Myanmar , Laos , Singapore , Thailand , the Philippines , and Vietnam./.