Jakarta (VNA) - Ambassador Ton Thi Ngoc Huong, Head of the Vietnamese Mission to ASEAN, and Sarah Tiffin, UK Ambassador to ASEAN co-chaired the 4th ASEAN-UK Joint Cooperation Committee (ASEAN-UK JCC) meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia on March 27.
This was the first JCC meeting presided by Vietnam as the coordinator of ASEAN-UK relations for the 2024-2027 term.
As part of their dialogue partnership, the UK has been actively implementing numerous projects and initiatives across various sectors. A key highlight is the Green Transition Programme, with a total budget of 40 million EUR (51 million USD), which supports ASEAN in reducing emissions, promoting green economic growth, and assisting vulnerable groups.
Additionally, the UK has rolled out several projects with budgets ranging from 25-30 million EUR, including the ASEAN-UK Economic Integration Programme, the Support for Adolescent Girls' Education (SAGE) initiative, and the Health Security Partnership. Cooperation also extends to areas such as women, peace, and security; science and technology cooperation; and the creative economy.
As the ASEAN-UK Plan of Action 2022-2026 enters its fourth year, 171 out of 181 action lines (about 95%) have been implemented, an increase of over 20 compared to the same period last year. These activities span across ASEAN’s three pillars of cooperation, namely political-security, economic, and socio-cultural. This is a positive signal as both sides prepare to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership next year.
On this occasion, Ambassador Tiffin reaffirmed the commitment of the new UK government to supporting ASEAN’s centrality. This was reflected in the participation of UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the ASEAN-UK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July 2024, just three weeks after taking office, along with numerous high-level exchanges between ASEAN and the UK.
As Chair of the ASEAN Integration Initiative (IAI) Task Force, Huong provided updates on cooperation activities within the IAI framework and encouraged the UK to consider supporting projects under the IAI Work Plan IV and beyond. The UK Ambassador noted this proposal and reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to supporting efforts to narrow the development gap and promote ASEAN integration.
ASEAN delegates welcomed the UK’s commitment to implementing the ASEAN-UK Plan of Action 2022-2026 and praised the significance of ASEAN-UK cooperation projects, particularly in green transition, economic integration, maritime cooperation, as well as women, peace, and security. They encouraged the UK to enhance collaboration with ASEAN in potential areas such as AI governance, renewable energy, financial services, and human resource development.
The delegates also appreciated the adoption of the ASEAN-UK Foreign Ministers’ Joint Statement on Connectivity in 2024 and expressed their desire to promote practical cooperation in this area.
On this occasion, Ambassador Huong announced that Vietnam and the UK will co-host the ASEAN-UK Connectivity Workshop in Da Nang on April 10 on the sidelines of the Fourth ASEAN-UK Senior Officials’ Meeting./.
