East ASEAN nations forge pact on common market<\/p>\n
DAVAO, Philippines (Reuter): Four southeast Asian nations on
\nSaturday forged a pact to turn areas that used to be backwaters
\ninto a bustling regional market for free trade, officials said.<\/p>\n
Businessmen and officials from Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and
\nthe Philippines approved resolutions at the end of the three-day
\nconference on the East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA) to cooperate in
\nthe exploitation of the region's rich fishery and forestry
\nresources and promote tourism.<\/p>\n
\"This is...a giant step towards realizing an East ASEAN
\n(common market),\" Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary
\nRizalino Navarro said in a speech ending the conference held in
\nthe southern city of Davao.<\/p>\n
\"We will all realize the huge potential for a bustling
\nexchange of goods. The government sector will not be in your
\nway,\" he added.<\/p>\n
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) includes
\nthe Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
EAGA would link the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei with the
\nlargely neglected island provinces of Indonesia, Malaysia and the
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
Deals<\/p>\n
A total of 12 business deals worth US$118 million was signed
\nduring the conference and hundreds of meetings on possible joint
\nventures were held.<\/p>\n
\"This is a good beginning,\" Daim Zainuddin, the Malaysian
\nofficial in charge of a similar economic zone linking Malaysia,
\nThailand, and Indonesia, told reporters.<\/p>\n
Navarro said he would endorse eight resolutions from the
\nconference to develop sea and air links and ease barriers to the
\nmovement of people in the region at a meeting of senior ASEAN
\nofficials to be held in Manado of Indonesia at the end of the
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
\"The (ASEAN) ministers will take a hard look to break down
\nsome of these political and territorial barriers. We will not get
\nin the way of the private sector in doing business,\" he told
\nreporters at the end of the meeting.<\/p>\n
Malai Ali Othman, permanent secretary of the communications
\nministry in Brunei, rejected the view that EAGA nations will find
\nit difficult to cooperate because they sell and produce the same
\ntype of goods.<\/p>\n
\"The focus here is how we can complement each other,\" he said.
\n\"If there is competition, that is normal.\"<\/p>\n
Navarro said the presence of large official and private
\ndelegations from Taiwan and the Northern Territory of Australia
\nwill help EAGA get off the ground.<\/p>\n
EAGA members also endorsed the holding of annual tourism fairs
\nand joint projects to develop prime tourist spots in the area.
\nThey also decided to begin work in the area of conservation and
\nprotection of fishery resources in the region.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-asean-nations-forge-pact-on-common-market-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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