EU and ASEAN continue to discuss challenges and opportunities of Intelligent Transport Systems
EU and ASEAN continue to discuss challenges and opportunities of Intelligent Transport Systems
The 2nd EU-ASEAN Workshop on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) took place virtually over two days on 27-28 April 2021 with speakers and participants including transport officials from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States and the European Union (EU), ASEAN Secretariat, ITS experts and practitioners from Europe and ASEAN regions. The event was opened by Ms Grace Ong, Director, Transportation Technology Group, Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore and Mr Herald Ruijters, Director for Investment, Innovative & Sustainable Transport, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), European Commission (EC). Closing remarks were given by Mr Lukas Gajdos, Deputy Head of Mission, EU Mission to ASEAN. The 2nd EU-ASEAN Workshop on ITS was supported by the Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (E-READI), a development cooperation instrument that facilitates cooperation between the EU and ASEAN in priority policy areas of joint interest.
Through this workshop, the EU and ASEAN exchanged knowledge and experience between the two regions on ITS, and discussed challenges and opportunities for ITS development in ASEAN. It was also an opportunity for presenting and validating the findings and draft recommendations of a study entitled “ITS Study on the Recommendations for the Development of National ITS Master Plan.”
The study is dedicated to assessing ITS developments in ASEAN Member States, taking the existing regional and national-level initiatives into account, in order to provide recommendations on the steps needed to be taken by ASEAN Member States to develop ITS National Masterplans and to ensure the interoperability of ITS implementation within the ASEAN region. In this context, deliberations at the workshop, including inputs from the participants on the study’s initial findings, provided insights on the status of ITS as well as challenges and opportunities for implementation in the region.
ITS experts presented the ITS Strategic Drivers relevant to ASEAN and EU, and participants further reflected upon the outcomes of the interviews and questionnaires. The study’s recommendations, which showcase best practices, cooperation platforms, funding mechanisms, monitoring ITS Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and progress reporting tools, were also presented. Interactive sessions elicited technical assistance that is required to follow up on recommendations and target future dialogue opportunities. The feedback collected during the interactive sessions will be used to finalise the study.
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967. The ASEAN Member States are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. On 31 December 2015, the ASEAN Community was formally established. The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta.
The European Union (EU) is the economic and political union of 27 Member States. Together, the European Union has built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development while maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedom. In 2012, the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the goals of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. The European Union is the world's largest trading bloc, and the world's largest source and destination of foreign direct investment. Collectively, the European Union and its member countries are the largest donors of Official Development Assistance (ODA), providing more than half of ODA globally.
The 27 Member States of the European Union (in alphabetical order) are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (E-READI) is a development cooperation programme that facilitates cooperation and dialogue between the EU and ASEAN in policy areas of joint interest. Drawing on the EU’s experience of regional integration, E-READI further strengthens both the ASEAN regional integration process as well as the overall ASEAN-EU strategic partnership.