After a half century of integration efforts, the 13 countries that make up ASEAN are making strides at achieving greater connectedness. One important initiative that furthers integration is the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, or MPAC, a set of nineteen strategies adopted in 2010 to help these archipelagic and landlocked nations be more linked. Updated in November 2016 to reflect on-the-ground developments, the revised MPAC for 2025 adopts some of the recommendations in the Enhancing ASEAN Connectivity Monitoring and Evaluation report, prepared by the Public-Private Partnerships team based at the Singapore Hub for Infrastructure and Urban Development. Better connectivity is vital to ASEAN: it facilitates and expands trade, lowers costs of goods and services, makes supply chains more efficient and exports more competitive. Examining in detail how connectivity has progressed under MPAC, the report suggests the way forward to 2025, and sets out improvements to the monitoring and evaluation system in order to allow for policy adjustments and benchmarking.
from World Bank Search – NEWS http://ift.tt/2pYPIVo