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AANZFTA Workshop Held To Enhance Parties’ Capacity In Project Design And Proposal Development

7 February 2017

Jakarta, 3 February 2017 - The AANZFTA Economic Cooperation Support Program (AECSP) organised a sub-regional capacity building workshop on project design and proposal development for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and the ASEAN Secretariat held from 2 to 3 February 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The workshop gathered participants comprised of officials from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar as well as their respective Focal Points at the ASEAN Secretariat. Workshop participants represented the eight AANZFTA Committees and Sub-Committees implementing various components of the AANZFTA, namely: Committee on Trade in Goods; Sub-Committee on Rules of Origin; Sub-Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; Sub-Committee on Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures; Committee on Investment; Committee on Trade in Services; Intellectual Property Committee; and Competition Committee.

“The AECSP was established to respond to a key principle of the AANZFTA in providing technical assistance and capacity building programs to enable all Parties to fully benefit from the AANZFTA. This is the underlying goal of the workshop,” said Mr. Ho Quang Trung, Director of the Market Integration Directorate under the ASEAN Economic Community Department of the ASEAN Secretariat.

The workshop aimed to contribute to this goal by increasing the awareness and understanding of participants on key principles and best practices in project proposal development and project management. Through the workshop, key officials from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar were provided with best practices and tools for initiating, developing, successfully implementing engagement activities under the AECSP, and for sustaining project results to benefit countries in the longer term.

The workshop, co-facilitated by an experienced Senior Trainer from MDF Asia, a Regional Social Development Specialist from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the ASEAN Secretariat, encouraged participants to practice project management concepts through practical and highly interactive group sessions on: the Logical Framework; Project Monitoring and Indicator Development; Risks and Risk Management; Gender Dimensions; Evaluation; and Sustainability Planning.

The AANZFTA Support Unit of the ASEAN Secretariat briefed workshop participants on the AECSP project cycle, including the steps and consultations needed in preparing, appraising, implementing, and completing a project. The AANZFTA Support Unit also presented the revised AECSP Project Management Templates endorsed by the AANZFTA Ad-hoc Economic Cooperation Sub-Committee in December 2016.

Characterised by its strong country and regional ownership, AECSP is a well-established vehicle under the AANZFTA to support the ASEAN Secretariat and to assist its Parties in their respective implementation of the Agreement.


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