OVERVIEW
ASEAN PLUS THREE COOPERATION
Introduction
1. Since the process began in 1997, ASEAN Plus Three (APT) cooperation has broadened and deepened. It includes cooperation in the areas of food and energy security, financial cooperation, trade facilitation, disaster management, people-to-people contacts, narrowing the development gap, rural development and poverty alleviation, social welfare, human trafficking, labour, communicable diseases, environment and sustainable development, and transnational crime, including counter-terrorism.
2. A Second Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation and the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan (2007-2017) were adopted at the 11th APT Summit in November 2007 in Singapore. The documents contain accomplishments, opportunities and challenges faced by APT and provide strategic guidance for the future direction of APT cooperation. At the same time, the Summit also endorsed the proposal to establish an ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Fund (APTCF) to facilitate the implementation of the Work Plan. The Fund was launched formally during the 9th APT Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July 2008 in Singapore.