ASEAN development must be green

ASEAN development must be green

SINGAPORE (AFP): Industrial and economic development in Southeast Asia should not be carried out at the expense of the environment, Singapore's Speaker of Parliament Tan Soo Khoon said on Thursday.

He told a parliamentary ASEAN forum that development must be implemented hand-in-hand with environmental protection.

"The economic and industrial developments must not be carried out at the expense of the environment," said Tan, who is also the president of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization which opened a two-day meeting here.

"Effective environmental pollution control and management programs must be implemented in tandem with economic and industrial growth to ensure that the health of the 500 million people in ASEAN region is safeguarded and the environment protected," he said.