The Virtual Seminar on “Connecting the Connectivities: Synergy through Enhanced Partnership” is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, in partnership with the World Bank and the ASEAN Secretariat. The Seminar is to serve as a platform for policy makers, experts, academia and the private sector from ASEAN Member States and Dialogue Partners to exchange views on promoting synergies between the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and other connectivity initiatives in the region. It would provide an opportunity for ASEAN Member States to engage with Dialogue Partners, including China, Japan, ROK, United States, EU, Australia and India, on how to deepen collaborations to enhance connectivity in the region.

For ASEAN Member States, enhanced connectivity in the region has been considered a key driver in achieving competitive growth, facilitating economies of scale and integrated production networks, enhancing intra-regional trade, attracting investments and promoting deeper ties among ASEAN peoples.

The Seminar focuses on strategic areas of connectitvity and important issues for economic recovery from COVID-19, namely, global supply chain connectivity, green and digital connectivity, and smart and sustainable connectivity, and brings together experts, scholars, and participants who have worked on relevant issues in those areas. Expected outcome of the Seminar includes a set of recommendations on how to deepen cooperation on connectivity while highlighting the common areas between connectivity strategies through “the Connecting the Connectivities” approach.