[Title] ASEAN PLUS THREE LEADERS' STATEMENT ON STRENGTHENING THE CONNECTIVITY OF REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAINS

WE, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, gathering at the 27th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit on 10 October 2024 in Vientiane, Lao PDR;

RECOGNISING the significance of sustainable, inclusive, connected, resilient and secure regional supply chains that are less vulnerable to shocks as essential drivers of economic growth, integration, and prosperity in the region amidst the evolving geo political and geo-economic landscape;

UNDERSCORING the importance of optimising the comparative and competitive advantages of APT countries as well as strengthening coordination and cooperation among APT countries to promote the mutually beneficial interconnection of supply chain connectivity and avoid supply chain disruptions;

RECALLING the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders' Statement on Connecting the Connectivities Initiative adopted in 2019, the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders' Statement on Strengthening ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation for Economic and Financial Resilience in the Face of Emerging Challenges adopted in 2020, the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Workplan 2023-2027 adopted in 2022, and the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders' Statement on Developing of Electric Vehicle Ecosystem adopted in 2023, which underscored the need to enhance supply chain connectivity.

REAFFIRMING our support for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), its principles, and its four priority areas, of which connectivity is one of them;

AFFIRMING our commitment to sustainable development and integration across the region in addressing the interconnected challenges facing our region, and fostering continued growth and prosperity for all;

REITERATING our commitment to an open, free, fair, inclusive, transparent, predictable and non-discriminatory rules-based, multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at its core and to our ongoing efforts in necessary reforms to improve all WTO functions, noting the work being done in the WTO to help enhancing the resilience of global supply chains;

RECOGNISING ASEAN's commitment to enhancing supply chain connectivity through the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Enhancing Supply Chain Connectivity, issued at the 44th ASEAN Summit on 9 October 2024, as one of the priority economic deliverables under Lao PDR's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024; and

HIGHLIGHTING Lao PDR's ASEAN Chairmanship theme of "ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience" to strengthen ASEAN's resilience, solidarity, and sustainability amidst global uncertainties and challenges for the prosperity and well being of the people and economies.

DO HEREBY DECLARE TO:

1. BUILD sustainable, inclusive, connected, resilient and secure regional supply chains; ENHANCE the efficiency of free flow of goods, supply chain connectivity and services; PROMOTE sustainable and inclusive regional economic growth and integration through cooperation to strengthen supply chain connectivity, leveraging on new growth drivers such as digital transformation, green economy including promotion of transition finance, blue economy, and creative economy

2. PROMOTE regional connectivity, develop links, and explore synergies between the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and other key connectivity initiatives promoted by China, Japan, and the ROK. SUPPORT relevant ASEAN led initiatives and enhance APT cooperation to foster regional connectivity through the development of sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, seamless logistics, regulatory excellence, and people mobility along with capacity building in the region.

3. PROMOTE inclusive economic engagement and cooperation through concrete and practical projects and activities including through the implementation of projects under the four priority areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and continuation of platforms such as ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum: Implementation of the AOIP.

4. PROMOTE effective and transparent implementation and robust utilisation of ASEAN Plus One FTAs with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement to enhance regional trade facilitation and to ensure resilience, sustainability and security of regional supply chains.

5. DEEPEN regional financial cooperation to support APT economies to address risks and challenges, including through the Regional Financing Arrangement (RFA) Future Direction / Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) to bolster the regional resilience of APT by providing access to emergency financing during periods of urgent balance of payment needs. STRENGTHEN regional resilience against potential economic and financial losses in future occurrences of disasters through the progress on the Disaster Risk Financing (DRF). CONTINUE TO SUPPORT the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI) to contribute to and promote the local currency bond market development and sustainable finance ecosystem in the region, APT Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO)'s technical support and surveillance capabilities to safeguard the region's macroeconomic and financial stability, and policy coordination on new initiatives such as infrastructure financing and fintech.

6. ENHANCE cooperation in food and agriculture sector by strengthening initiatives such as the APT Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) and the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS). FOCUS ON promoting innovative sustainable, resilient, and low carbon agricultural production methods, advocating for sustainable agriculture practices, and developing resilient food supply chains. These efforts aim to ensure an adequate, safe, nutritious, accessible, and affordable food supply for all, especially during times of crises.

7. PROMOTE the development of the digital economy, including through undertaking cooperation on digital financial services and payment connectivity, developing digital infrastructure, enhancing digital human resource development skills, strengthening the resilience, sustainability, and security of regional supply chains of digital products, technologies, and services, addressing barriers to regional digital transformation, narrowing the digital gap and sharing best practices in regulations to effectively embrace the digital economy and harness technological transformation among APT countries.

8. ENHANCE energy security and technical cooperation by preserving the security resilience and integration of regional energy supply chains as well as improving the capacity of ASEAN Member States through enhancing domestic and cross-border grid infrastructure, facilitating the development and transit of cross-border power trade and subsea power cables, strengthening knowledge-sharing, particularly on respective national energy policies, promoting investment and technology transfer on voluntary and mutually agreed terms, engaging in joint research, and cooperating on standardisation in renewable energy with the aim to strengthen capacity and narrow development gap among member states in leveraging decarbonizing, accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies, and work towards a concrete and definite timeline to realise the ASEAN Power Grid by 2045.

9. ENHANCE people-to-people connectivity, through greater collaboration on human capital development including Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and further promotion of quality assurance to raise the skill level of manpower, particularly in the areas of logistics and supply chain standards in response to the challenges and opportunities posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and readiness to welcome to the new emergence of investment.

10. PROMOTE cooperation in sustainable aquaculture and fisheries, combatting Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, advancing biotechnology, fostering marine and freshwater industrial development, enhancing food security, facilitating trade, and improving marine and freshwater transport, to compliment the implementation of the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on the Blue Economy and other relevant ASEAN documents.

11. PROMOTE cooperation on labour and migrant workers, including through discussions on regular pathways for labour migration as well as the mobility of labour and its influence on economies and other related issues, taking into account the respective circumstances including laws and regulations of each country, towards providing labour support for regional supply chains.

12. PROMOTE sustainable development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including women-owned MSMEs, and enhance their competitiveness through facilitating better access to financing and markets, digital infrastructure and use of technologies as well as other relevant means of support, towards improving MSMEs' access to regional markets and value chains.

13. PROMOTE cooperation, partnerships, and engagement with the private sector including through strengthening existing consultation mechanisms between ASEAN and the private sector of China, Japan, and ROK with a view to leverage synergies in government policies, particularly for resilient supply chains and business activities across industries and sectors in the region.

14. SUPPORT the development of resilient regional supply chain of medical supplies and health systems and efforts in addressing health emergencies in the context of future pandemics through initiatives such as the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED), ASEAN BioDiaspora Virtual Center (ABVC), ASEAN Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Network and ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies for Public Health Emergencies (RRMS).

15. PROMOTE cooperation to develop the supply chains for hybrid and electric vehicle ecosystem, including through the promotion of resilient supply chains of critical minerals; investment opportunities; public awareness; technology transfer on voluntary and mutually agreed terms; research, development and transfer of relevant technology; and financing to support the ecosystem for hybrid and electric vehicle development, including transition finance.

16. TASK relevant ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, particularly those with relevant ASEAN Plus Three mechanisms, to follow up on the implementation of this Statement.

ADOPTED in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on this Tenth Day of October in the Year Two Thousand and Twenty-Four in a single original copy in the English Language.