Europe ready to help more, insist on Asian responsibility<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Europe is ready to offer more help to
\ntroubled Asian nations when leaders of the two continents hold a
\nsummit next month in London but would insist on \"responsibility,\"
\na senior French diplomat said.<\/p>\n
\"The Europeans feel that their future, their prosperity is at
\nstake so they are ready to extend help,\" Francois Dopffer,
\ndirector for Asia and Oceania at the French foreign ministry,
\nsaid in an interview here over the weekend.<\/p>\n
He said after holding talks with Singapore officials that
\nEuropean \"solidarity\" in the crisis must be matched by Asian
\n\"responsibility\" in reforming troubled economies requiring
\nexternal help.<\/p>\n
\"Because otherwise, you can put billions of dollars into Asian
\neconomies, and they will be wasted. Only Asian economies can help
\nthemselves, by taking the necessary steps. If they show
\nresponsibility, they can be assured that there will be a steady
\nflow of help,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Singapore and France are the key countries behind the Asia-
\nEurope Meeting (ASEM), which held its first summit in Bangkok two
\nyears ago. ASEM is aimed at forging closer inter-continental
\nlinks similar to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
\nforum which bonds Asia with the Americas.<\/p>\n
ASEM's April 2-4 London meeting is expected to be dominated by
\nthe financial crisis which has shaken Asia's once booming
\neconomies since mid-1997.<\/p>\n
\"If the Asians show responsibility, they will have no
\ndifficulty in convincing the developed countries which are in a
\nbetter situation presently to send money, technical advice,
\nexpertise, open their markets and so on because it's a common
\ninterest.<\/p>\n
\"If there's no responsibility and the money disappears, and
\nnobody knows where, the taxpayers in Europe or in America or in
\nJapan say, 'No!'\" he said.<\/p>\n
Foreign creditors have praised Thailand and South Korea for
\ncarrying out painful reforms in exchange for bailouts from the
\nInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), but expressed impatience with
\nIndonesia's perceived foot-dragging.<\/p>\n
Dopffer was speaking before Indonesian President Soeharto
\nstepped up a showdown with the IMF on Sunday when he indirectly
\ncriticized the reform program linked to a 40-billion-dollar
\nbailout.<\/p>\n
Ahead of ASEM's London summit, European diplomats have been
\nstepping up their profile in Asia amid perceptions that Europe
\nmay not be doing as much as the United States to help the region
\nin its time of need.<\/p>\n
Dopffer sought to dispel this view, noting the heavy
\ncontribution of European nations to the IMF on top of bilateral
\nsupport for troubled countries.<\/p>\n
He cited estimates that the Asian crisis would shave half a
\npercentage point off an earlier forecast of 3.5 percent economic
\ngrowth for France this year, and said \"tens of thousands\" of
\nEuropean jobs in such industries as textiles and footwear would
\nbe affected by cheaper Asian exports due to devaluation.<\/p>\n
\"We are in the same boat, and if we want to stop that crisis
\nwe better coordinate our efforts,\" he said. \"We have to be
\nhelpful, and the Asian economies have to be responsive.\"<\/p>\n
\"The big danger in this crisis is that from an Asian crisis,
\nit becomes an emerging markets crisis. This would have much more,
\nmuch larger effects on the world economy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Last week, a special envoy of British Prime Minister Tony
\nBlair, whose country holds the EU presidency, carried the same
\nmessage on the need for reforms in a tour of Asian countries,
\nincluding Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/europe-ready-to-help-more-insist-on-asian-responsibility-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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