Regional programs
| East Asia regional program estimate | $39.8 million |
Australia’s East Asia regional programs aim to help enhance regional capacity to progress economic integration, improve security, and tackle critical transboundary challenges.
To address these issues, the building of effective strategic partnerships with regional and international organisations, and with other donors, is an important priority. Australia will work especially closely with regional institutions including ASEAN, APEC, the Mekong River Commission, the International Organisation for Migration and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Key areas of focus include economic integration in the East Asian region, counter-terrorism, corruption and money laundering, disease outbreaks, water, people trafficking, drugs control, and child protection. Special attention will be given to supporting cooperation through ASEAN and APEC and through two sub-regions, the Greater Mekong Sub-Region and the Brunei–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area, to help promote economic growth and security in these areas.
Australia will continue to support regional economic integration and trade liberalisation through the five-year, $45 million ASEAN–Australia Development Cooperation Program. A major new three-year, $2 million anti-drug initiative focusing on Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Thailand will be pursued, as announced at the ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Commemorative Summit in November 2004.
Continued support for APEC will help developing economy members in the region to strengthen their trade liberalisation, economic governance, and trade and financial security. In particular, Australia will provide $3 million over three years to help establish an APEC Support Fund — an Australian initiative to improve trade, governance and build security capacity for developing APEC economies. Australia will also provide $3 million over three years to help promote anti-corruption policies and programs. In addition, Australian agencies and departments will continue to assist APEC developing economies and others in the region through an APEC component of the new Public Sector Linkages Program.
In 2005–06 Australia will continue to help stop the spread of communicable diseases such as Avian Influenza. A new three‑year, $5 million regional program of assistance will start early in 2005–06, and aim to strengthen the capacity of developing East Asian countries to identify and respond to outbreaks of Avian Influenza and other related diseases. Together with earlier initiatives, this will bring the aid program’s total commitment to fighting zoonotic diseases to $13.4 million. The Asia Regional HIV/AIDS project ($10 million from July 2002 to July 2006) is contributing to the reduction of HIV transmission through injecting drug use in South–East Asia and China. Australia is also implementing a number of anti people-trafficking activities, with a total value of approximately $14 million. These include the $8.5 million Asia Regional Cooperation to Prevent People Trafficking Project, and two return and reintegration projects delivered through the International Organisation for Migration.