ASEM starts to discuss financial crisis<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (AFP): Asian and European finance ministers assembled
\nhere yesterday to seek ways of dousing Southeast Asia's raging
\nfinancial crisis and lay the ground for cooperation into the 21st
\ncentury.<\/p>\n
Thai Finance Minister Thanong Bidaya said the Asia-Europe
\nmeeting (ASEM) would aim for \"constructive consultations\" on ways
\nto stabilize regional financial markets which went into a
\ntailspin after Thailand floated its currency on July 2.<\/p>\n
\"I think it is going to be a very timely conference after all
\nthis... money and foreign exchange problem in this region,\" said
\nThanong, who will chair Friday's meeting of 25 countries.<\/p>\n
French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn said it would
\nbe \"very useful\" to discuss what he described as a \"very deep
\ncrisis\" and \"what is coming after.\"<\/p>\n
But he said after a meeting with Thanong that \"the biggest
\nproblems\" were behind, adding that the crisis had highlighted
\nhidden problems and reminded the region that \"things have to be
\ndone.\"<\/p>\n
Ministers and top officials from the 25 member-countries of
\nthe Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) streamed into the Thai capital
\nunder tight security ahead of the group's first finance chiefs
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
But the ministers are likely to see their official agenda of
\nsetting the stage for long-term cooperation overshadowed by
\nconcerns on the monetary storm sweeping through the seemingly
\ninvincible Asian economic Tigers.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar
\nIbrahim confirmed when arriving at the conference venue that the
\nmonetary and financial crisis would occupy the officials' time.<\/p>\n
\"It certainly will be reviewed,\" he told reporters.
\nSingapore Finance Minister Richard Hu said ministers of the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would meet late
\nThursday, while sources said the top item on the agenda would be
\nfinancial stability.<\/p>\n
The region, led by embattled Thailand, has seen its currency
\nand stock markets badly hit by a wave of financial instability
\nthat has engulfed the region for the past four months.<\/p>\n
Southeast Asian currency and stock markets have gone through
\nnon-stop turbulence since Thailand floated the baht, with its
\neconomy in deep crisis amid bad debt fears surrounding its
\nbeleaguered finance sector.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso, the Indonesian rupiah and the Malaysian
\nringgit have all hit all-time lows under speculative attacks
\nwhile even the normally robust Singapore dollar has not been
\nspared from the regional contagion.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody is following the situation in Asia very carefully,\"
\nEuropean Union Ambassador to Thailand Michel Caillouet said as
\nASEAN senior officials prepared for an informal huddle here
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
\"This meeting will be a good opportunity to share our
\nexperiences as in Europe we have been working for a very long
\ntime, for more than 40 years, to develop an (integration)
\nprocess.\"<\/p>\n
EU Finance Commissioner Thibault de Silguy urged Asian
\neconomies to open their markets, boost regional cooperation and
\nstep up regulation of their financial markets to help foster
\nfinancial stability.<\/p>\n
ASEM was formed at a meeting here two years ago to boost
\ncooperation and development between the two continents. It
\nincludes the 15 EU members, seven ASEAN members as well as Japan,
\nChina and South Korea.<\/p>\n
The seven ASEAN members meeting here with their European
\ncounterparts are Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
\nSingapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Recent ASEAN members Burma and
\nLaos were not included.<\/p>\n
Currency -- Page 10<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asem-starts-to-discuss-financial-crisis-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }