ASEAN agrees to liberalize services<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\nhas agreed to liberalize trade in services among its nine members
\nand set up a foundation to help its people help themselves.<\/p>\n
Copies of the agreements, which are to be signed by top ASEAN
\nofficials at their three-day summit that opened last night, were
\nobtained by The Associated Press.<\/p>\n
The protocol on services, to take effect no later than March
\n31, is based on negotiations that followed a framework agreement
\nsigned at the ASEAN summit in Bangkok two years ago.<\/p>\n
It sets out a schedule for specific commitments that each
\nmember country will undertake in extending preferential treatment
\nin services to other countries in the region on a most-favored-
\nnation basis.<\/p>\n
The new ASEAN Foundation, to be based in Jakarta, will promote
\nhuman resources development to enable the region's 500 million
\nresidents \"to realize their full potential and capacity to
\ncontribute to progress,\" the memorandum of understanding says.<\/p>\n
The foundation -- which will have a board of directors,
\nexecutive director, council of advisers and other staff -- will
\nreceive funds from members who wish to join, along with ASEAN
\n\"dialog partners,\" private corporations and others.<\/p>\n
The money will be used to:<\/p>\n
* organize and support activities to promote education,
\ntraining, health and cultural life.<\/p>\n
* provide fellowships to and support exchanges of ASEAN youth
\nand students.<\/p>\n
* promote collaborative work among academics, professionals
\nand scientists.<\/p>\n
* provide assistance to \"uplift the social condition\" of ASEAN
\nresidents.<\/p>\n
Leaders from the nine ASEAN members arrived yesterday.
\nConspicuously absent will be Indonesia's President Soeharto, the
\noldest ASEAN leader and sole survivor of the five heads of state
\nwho ordered the founding of ASEAN 30 years ago. Soeharto is
\nstaying away for health reasons.<\/p>\n
Three non-ASEAN countries invited to attend the commemorative
\nsummit also arrived yesterday. They were Chinese President Jiang
\nZemin and Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.<\/p>\n
Jiang discussed the regional financial turmoil with his host
\nMalaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday.<\/p>\n
Jiang, the highest-level Chinese official ever to meet ASEAN
\nleaders, was accompanied on a special flight by his wife Wang
\nYeping and officials including Foreign Minister Qian Qichen and
\nspecial assistant Zeng Qinghong.<\/p>\n
Jiang held a one-hour discussion with Mahathir, and
\ndiscussions were \"100 percent on currency,\" Malaysian Foreign
\nMinister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters.<\/p>\n
\"Both agreed that the situation is serious enough and there
\nhas to be some kind of cooperation that can be worked out to help
\nthe ailing economies to recover despite the fact that we all know
\nthat there is already the IMF helping them,\" Abdullah said.<\/p>\n
Separately Hashimoto said Japan would continue to offer
\nsupport to Asian nations, but only within an international
\nframework in conjunction with the IMF.<\/p>\n
\"Our basic stance remains unchanged...we must work within an
\ninternational framework or else it won't be effective,\" Hashimoto
\ntold reporters during a flight to Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Hashimoto said while the ASEAN talks could touch upon a wide
\nrange of topics, the main focus would be on how Japan could
\ncontribute to helping the region's battered economies, and to
\nreconfirm Japan's support for the framework agreed in Manila in
\nNovember.<\/p>\n
But ASEAN officials stopped short of endorsing a plan,
\nadvocated by Mahathir, to establish a standby fund independent of
\nthe IMF and its austerity programs, on grounds that it would
\nundercut the IMF and weaken the region's desire to take strong
\ncorrective action.<\/p>",
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