The "Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Public Private Partnership (PPP) for Infrastructure Development 2010" (APMC2010) will be hosted by the Government of Indonesia in Jakarta from 14-17 April 2010. The Conference is a follow-up to the "Ministerial Conference on Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development in Asia and the Pacific" held at Seoul, 2-5 October 2007.
In October 2007, the Government of the Republic of Korea organized and hosted in Seoul the Ministerial Conference on Public-Private partnerships for Infrastructure Development in Asia and the Pacific with the support of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The Conference supported the creation of an institutional network of PPP units and related institutions (Asia-Pacific Regional Public-Private Partnerships Network for Infrastructure Development). High-level government officials and Ministers from ESCAP member countries exchanged country experiences and provided policy guidance. The Conference concluded with the "Seoul Declaration on Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development in Asia and the Pacific. It noted that PPPs were an effective means to complement the efforts of governments in the development and provision of infrastructure facilities and services. It also underscored the need to enhance or create a conducive environment for private sector participation in the provision of infrastructure facilities and services, with particular reference to:
• Formulation of a PPP policy framework;
• Reform of legislative and regulatory regimes;
• Establishment of administrative mechanisms to promote good governance in PPPs; and
• Enhancement of the capacity of the public sector to implement PPPs.
Ministers resolved that their respective governments would develop and implement policies at the regional, sub-regional, national and sub-national levels in line with agreed principles of good governance.
In April 2008, based on the Seoul Declaration, ESCAP at its sixty-fourth session adopted resolution 64/4 entitled "Implementation of the Seoul Declaration on Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development in Asia and the Pacific". It urged members and associate members to recognize that public-private partnerships can be an effective means to complement the efforts of Governments in developing and providing infrastructure facilities and services, and promote the role of public-private partnerships in infrastructure development.
The resolution stressed the importance of developing and implementing policies on public-private partnerships at the regional, sub-regional, national and sub-national levels, and invited members to review and assess their public-private partnerships, sectoral and other relevant policy frameworks and action plans for infrastructure development accordingly. It also invited members to:
• Assess the readiness of their institutions and processes to deal effectively with public-private partnerships, and their capacity to implement public-private partnerships and evaluate their impact on development;
• Identify key issues to be addressed by Governments in promoting the role of public-private partnerships in infrastructure development; and
• Review processes and procedures for implementing public-private partnerships, including effective management over their life cycle, and indentify legislative, regulatory and institutional impediments to effective public-private partnerships.
The resolution also underscored the importance of regional cooperation and regional networking arrangements, and especially in the development and delivery of educational and training programmes; the establishment of databases on public-private partnerships activity, laws, guidelines and model agreements; the provision of technical assistance; and the standardization of terminology, contracts, processes and procedures related to public-private partnerships.