Sydney (VNA) – The A😼ustralian Government has announced thatit will strengthen its cooperation with Southeast Asia through a new 10 millionAUD (about 6.51 million USD) programme n🐓amed Climate and Clean Energy Window, designed tobolster their joint efforts on climate change and clean energy.

The Window, announced at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit inMelbourne on March 4, will provide multi-year funding for climate and cleanenergy programmes including technical capacity building, and will ensureAustralia and ASEAN countries are sharing expertise and learning from each other. Building on existing cooperation, the Window will enableAustralian Commonwealth and State and Territory Government agencies to expandand sustain lasting relationships with Southeast Asian counterparts on climatechange and the clean energy transformation. It will also include a flexible funding stream to respond topartner country requests. The Window will be the first initiative to be designed under theSoutheast Asia Government-to-Government Partnerships programme, announced bythe Albanese Government in 2023.     It will also support implementation of Invested: Australia'sSoutheast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, which recognises the criticalenabling role of government-to-government partnerships and the opportunitiesand challenges of the clean energy transformation. Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said that climatechange is an existential threat to the region and Australia is working with itsASEAN partners to mitigate its impacts and accelerate the clean energytransition. The new Climate and Clean Energy Window is one example of how theyare creating opportunity and addressing shared challenges together, she said. Also at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit 2024, AustralianMinister of Foreign Affairs announced Australia is investing a further 222.5million AUD (about 145 million USD) to support the resilience and prosperity ofthe Mekong subregion of Southeast Asia through the Mekong-AustraliaPartnership. Since its launch, theMekong-Australia Partnership has supported the sub-region's environmental andeconomic resilience, leadership and skills, and trade and investment. This second phase offunding over the next five years will address priorities and shared challengeswith a focus on improving water security, responding to climate change andcombatting transnational crime. Australia willcontribute to strengthened leadership, institutions, and people to peopleconnections to promote shared prosperity. The Mekong-AustraliaPartnership complements Australia's longstanding bilateral partnerships andASEAN development cooperation. Australia willcontinue to work with its Mekong sub-region partners to shape and secure thefuture of the region and all those who rely on it, the minister said./.