Support for subregional ties needed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday that Indonesia
\nand the other countries of the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations (ASEAN) will see large amounts of new investment coming
\ninto the region when the group's trade liberalization goes into
\neffect by 2003.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, as a part of the region, should anticipate the
\ninvestment inflows by strengthening its cooperation with the
\nother ASEAN members through the existing subregional economic
\ncooperation schemes, he said.<\/p>\n
ASEAN, under its ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement, will
\nliberalize trade among its members by lowering import tariffs to
\na maximum of five percent.<\/p>\n
\"As a free-trade area, ASEAN will become a new economic giant.
\nTherefore, we hope that ASEAN members will become more attractive
\nfor new investment,\" Soeharto stated in his keynote address at
\nthe opening of a coordination meeting on subregional growth areas
\nhere yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"In addition to the commitment on trade liberalization, the
\nmember countries will strengthen cooperation with each other and
\nwith countries from outside the region,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He particularly noted that, in line with the commitment for
\neconomic cooperation, ASEAN also expected to encourage other
\ncountries in the region, including Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, to
\njoin the association soon.<\/p>\n
ASEAN currently groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Soeharto acknowledged that to create a strong economic region,
\nASEAN should focus on developing an open economic system.
\nHowever, he acknowledged ASEAN countries still have to deal with
\na lot of problems before entering the liberalization era.<\/p>\n
Support<\/p>\n
Soeharto also urged all ministries to support economic
\ndevelopment in ASEAN's three subregional growth areas.<\/p>\n
If necessary, each ministry can revise its sectoral
\ndevelopment plans or projects to make them conform to the
\nobjectives of sub-regional cooperation, he said.<\/p>\n
\"In the initial stages of sub-regional economic cooperation,
\nwe need each ministry to be willing to revise its projects and to
\nadjust them as new opportunities arise,\" Soeharto said.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution Hartarto
\nsaid that Indonesia would focus on certain sectors, including
\nagriculture, tourism, forestry, fishery, mining and energy, in
\nthe subregional cooperation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of
\nCommerce and Industry, Iman Taufik, said that cooperation between
\nlocal investors and Jakarta-based companies will be important to
\nsupport the development of businesses in the subregional growth
\nareas.<\/p>\n
He noted that local investors should also be prepared to
\nsecure strategic assets which could be acquired by foreign
\ninvestors.<\/p>\n
He said that opportunities are now available to establish
\nbusiness cooperation and to boost trade relations among the
\ncountries involved.<\/p>\n
\"This cooperation will boost ASEAN's trade volume which
\ncurrently accounts for 25 percent of the global volume,\" he said.<\/p>\n
ASEAN's international trade reached US$700 billion last year,
\nthe fourth largest after the United States, Japan and the
\nEuropean Union.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is now part of ASEAN's three subregional economic
\ncooperation areas with the other association members except
\nVietnam. The cooperation areas are the Indonesia-Malaysia-
\nThailand Growth Triangle, the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth
\nTriangle and the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippine East ASEAN
\nGrowth Area. (alo)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/support-for-subregional-ties-needed-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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