Results of the

IAI Development Cooperation Forum (IDCF)

Jakarta, 15-16 August 2002

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1.         The IAI Development Cooperation Forum (IDCF) was successfully held in Jakarta on 15-16 August 2002.  Some 270 representatives from ASEAN member countries and its dialogue partners, together with 27 regional and international organizations, as well as 17 regional and international corporations and foundations attended the event. 

2.         The Forum, which was aimed at developing new partnerships within ASEAN and between the regional grouping and its dialogue partners, including other interested countries and organizations to narrow the development gap among ASEAN member countries, obtained support  for the implementation of activities under the IAI (Initiative for ASEAN Integration) Work Plan.

3.         They included ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners such as, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand and the UNDP.  Pledges of support also came from the Federal Republic of Germany, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), the ASEAN Foundation, Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), the Colombo Plan, OXFAM, petroleum organization of Malaysia (Petronas), IBM and RITES Consultancy of India.

4.         The Forum was officially opened by H.E. Dr. Hassan Wirajuda, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Indonesia and H.E. Mr. Hor Namhong, Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

5.         Besides the plenary session and the four sessions focusing on the prioritized areas of human resource development, infrastructure, information and communications technology and regional economic development, bilateral discussions were held between CLMV and Japan and the ASEAN Foundation respectively. Sectoral and individual consultations between ASEAN and interested donor agencies and countries also took place on the sidelines of the IDCF.

6.         Interested countries and organizations expressed their positive support in the strategies taken by ASEAN to narrow the development gap and help move the CLMV countries closer to the ASEAN-6.  The IAI Work Plan, which was adopted at the 35^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan in July 2002, embodied not only ASEAN’s political will and determination, but also concrete programmes and projects to be implemented in the short and long term. Besides rallying support for the implementation of the IAI Work Plan, the IDCF created, for the first time, new partnership arrangements among governments, international and regional organizations, and the private sector in supporting and carrying out the IAI Work Plan activities.

7.         The Forum also provided interested countries and organizations with a better understanding of the priorities of ASEAN’s regional integration in general and the IAI Work Plan in particular. The ASEAN Secretariat briefed the delegates on different types of development cooperation arrangements which include partnerships between ASEAN governments and/or Dialogue Partners jointly funding a project with the private sector and/or regional organizations or international non-governmental entities.  Funding contributions could be in the form of cash or in-kind, whichever is convenient to the potential partners.  These types of development cooperation allow flexibility for the donors to commit their assistance to ASEAN since IDCF is aimed at forging new partnerships in development cooperation, not between “donor and recipient,” but between “equals in a mutually beneficial partnership.”

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