THE 59th ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting and the 4th ASEAN-United States Senior Transport Officials Meeting, hosted by Myanmar, were held yesterday morning at the Wyndham Grand Yangon Hotel. The meetings were led by the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Deputy Minister for Transport and Communications U Aung Kyaw Tun said he was pleased with the efforts to strengthen transport cooperation in the ASEAN region. He highlighted that ASEAN member states must work together to achieve the bloc’s shared goals, including regional connectivity, long-term development, and resilience. He added that Myanmar actively contributes to ASEAN’s strategies in line with the bloc’s vision, and is working to improve its multimodal transport infrastructure through priority programmes under the National Transport Master Plan. He also noted Myanmar’s efforts in international commitments such as environmental protection, sustainable development, resilience and digital transformation.
According to reports, the meetings included discussions on several key issues: the signing of the ASEAN–New Zealand air services agreement, drafting a regional roadmap for the implementation of electric vehicles, formulating a regional maritime waste management strategy, and finalizing the ASEAN Transport Cooperation Work Plan for the 2026–2030 period.
The Deputy Minister expressed confidence that these meetings would bring about meaningful outcomes. He said ASEAN’s goal of a seamlessly connected, continuously developing, and integrated transport network could be achieved through ongoing cooperation and mutual support among member states. He also thanked ASEAN partners for their assistance to the areas in Myanmar affected by the recent earthquake.
Myanmar previously hosted the ASEAN Transport Ministers and Senior Transport Officials Meetings in 2014 as the rotating chair. With the 2025 chairmanship falling again to Myanmar, the country is once more leading the event. Senior officials from ASEAN member states, the ASEAN Secretariat and dialogue partners such as China and Japan attended the meetings. — MNA/KZL
