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SINGAPORE: Singapore has pledged a further S$30 million for technical assistance programmes in newer ASEAN member states under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced at the ASEAN summit in Singapore Tuesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Singapore plans to use the additional contributions between 2009 and 2011 to further enhance the human resources capacity of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
The ministry added that this will in turn help promote solidarity and integration among the ASEAN members.
Singapore hopes to support the larger regional goal of achieving an ASEAN community by 2015 through these efforts.
The Initiative for ASEAN Integration was launched by then prime minister Goh Chok Tong at the fourth ASEAN informal summit in 2000.
The aim of the initiative was to help narrow the development gap in ASEAN, especially among the newer member states of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Singapore has so far committed nearly S$88 million worth of technical assistance packages from 2001 to 2008.
Since 2001, more than 18,000 citizens from the four countries have attended various courses and workshops under the Singapore Cooperation Programme. - CNA/ac
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