Air, land pacts to be signed at 23rd Asean Transport Ministers Meeting

TRANSPORT ministers from the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) expect to sign and adopt several agreements to liberalise and improve air travel in the region when they meet in Singapore on Oct 12 and 13, the Singapore Ministry of Transport said on Wednesday.

A land transport agreement to enhance tourism, investment, trade and people-to-people connectivity across Asean member states is also on the table.

The air services agreements will include pacts to improve the safety and efficiency of air travel in Asean and beyond, the ministry said.

The 23rd annual Asean Transport Ministers Meeting and associated meetings with dialogue partners China, Japan and the Republic of Korea will be the highlight of discussions that began on Oct 9 and that involved about 200 delegates from the 10 Asean member states and the three dialogue partner countries.

Singapore last hosted the meeting in 2007.