Manila – As ASEAN approaches the crucial 2015 milestone of realising the ASEAN Community, the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC) has convened the ASEAN Public–Private Partnership (PPP) Networking Forum on 16–17 December in Manila to discuss PPP as an innovative financing mechanism to realise the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC).

The forum brought together senior officials and experts from various agencies, international financing institutions, development partners and the private sector to share PPP experience, discuss proposed PPP guidelines, and explore strategies to attract the private sector to invest in infrastructure in the region.

They discussed issues related to mobilising resources for MPAC through PPP, countries’ experiences on PPP, proposed ASEAN PPP Guidelines/Principles, and creating a more conducive environment to PPP at the regional, national and local government levels.    

The need to develop a pipeline of properly prepared projects and enhance the public sector capacity in project preparation was emphasised at the forum.  This could be derived through sharing of best practices, cooperation, collaboration, and mutually beneficial partnerships. 

The forum was organised by the Philippine Permanent Mission to ASEAN with support from ACCC, the Office of ASEAN Affairs of the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the PPP Center of the Philippines.

The forum was supported by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and ASEAN Regional Integration Support from the EU (ARISE).