ASEAN calls for balanced new trade round

ASEAN calls for balanced new trade round

TOKYO (AFP): Southeast Asian nations Friday urged Japan to press the cause of developing nations when launching a new round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, an official said.

Leaders from the region, in Tokyo after attending a memorial the previous day for former Japanese prime minister Keizo Obuchi, met with his successor, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.

They urged him to carry their banner when discussing the next WTO round at a July 21-23 Group of Eight leaders' summit to be held in the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.

"We want to request a new WTO round be set up in a balanced manner that considers developing nations' interests and benefits all," Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai was quoted as telling Mori.

Chuan, who chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), made the request at a meeting between Mori and representatives from the ASEAN nations, the foreign ministry official said.

Mori promised to carry the ASEAN message to the G8 summit, which also includes the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Russia and the United States.

"To strengthen the multilateral trade system, Japan believes it is important to launch an early new round that can cope with wide-ranging issues that countries, including developing nations, are interested in.

"I hope to issue a strong message on the new round at the next summit," Mori was quoted as saying.

Southeast Asia hoped the world's major nations would discuss reform of the global financial system, recognize the strength and potential of the Asian economy and open up markets further for Asia, Chuan said.

ASEAN wanted the economic powers to recognize "the need to create a regional mechanism to solve regional economic problems in Asia," he said, according to the Japanese ministry official.

The participants had no particular proposal for the mechanism, the official said, adding that only one country mentioned an Asian monetary fund, advocated by Japan.

"The point is that they want Japan to take the initiative in promoting such regional cooperation and the international community to properly consider it," the official said.

Mori also vowed to help ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, in promoting information technology.

Obuchi died on May 14, six weeks after suffering a massive stroke.