Supporting the ASEAN integration process through Interparliamentary Cooperation

Project description

Title: AIPA for ASEAN Integration (AIPA4ASEAN)
Commissioned by: German Federal Foreign Office (AA)
Country: ASEAN Member States
Lead executing agency: ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)
Overall term: 2018 to 2020

 

ASEAN-German Energy Programme (AGEP) provides platform to strengthen knowledge sharing on integration of variable energy sources among utilities, grid operators and regulators from the ASEAN Member States.

Context

In 1977, ten years after the foundation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) was established. This was later renamed as ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

As an inter-parliamentary organisation, AIPA aims to promote inter-parliamentary cooperation and facilitate the processes of achieving the ASEAN goals. AIPA also seeks to familiarise the citizens of the ASEAN Member States with policies to accelerate the further realisation of the ASEAN community.

In 2012, the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany and AIPA have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen the parliamentary functions of AIPA Member Parliaments, and to support ASEAN to achieve its goal of establishing the ASEAN Community by 2015.

Phase 1 of the Project themed "Capacity Development for the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)", was jointly implemented by AIPA and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in the time from 2014 to 2018. “AIPA for ASEAN Integration” is the third and final phase of the project. It started in March 2018 and will be implemented by February 2020.

Objective

The AIPA Secretariat and the Member Parliaments are strengthened. They can contribute to achieve the goals of ASEAN integration and to the attainment of peace, stability and security in the region.

Approach

The project aims to establish sustainable mechanisms within AIPA to support the ASEAN integration process. This will be done by supporting effective and sustainable organisational mechanisms, preferably through a dedicated parliamentary committee who will deliberate on ASEAN and AIPA-related matters. Moreover, the project will support the process of introducing sustainable and effective coordination and communication mechanisms between the member parliaments. This will help to follow up on ASEAN themes and initiatives. The project will also support the process of setting up an online database and a monitoring system for AIPA resolutions that tracks the status of their implementation.

The project also supports selected AIPA Member Parliaments in developing plans to adopt the AIPA Human Capacity Development (HCD) framework and the respective member parliaments’ priority agenda to implement the 2025 ASEAN Integration Plan.

ASEAN-German Energy Programme (AGEP) supports the energy deployment and energy efficiency in the ASEAN region.

The AIPA Secretariat is the hub for knowledge, communication and stakeholder engagement. The project supports measures to redesign the AIPA Secretariat’s organisational structure to effectively implement its mandate and strategy. It receives support to develop an HCD plan to effectively develop and harness its human resources to achieve organisational goals and to develop its fund-raising capability to mobilise resources and build donor constituency to sustain its operations. The AIPA Communication Master Plan outlines awareness and educational campaigns, such as Seminar Workshops on ASEAN integration for ten member parliaments. The project is supporting the AIPA secretariat in implementing them.

Additional information