ASEAN leaders visit to S'pore raises hopes
ASEAN leaders visit to S'pore raises hopes
SINGAPORE (DPA): A spate of visits by ASEAN leaders to Singapore has ignited hopes of restoring the grouping's international credibility and the Southeast Asian region's attractiveness as an investment destination, the foreign ministry said Saturday.
Three of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders will be visiting the city-state back-to-back within a one-week period, with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra scheduled to arrive first from Aug. 22-23.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo will be in Singapore Aug. 24-26 and Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri Aug. 26-27, their schedules showed. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is set to arrive on Sept. 10 for a two-day stay.
"Singapore places great importance on all these visits," said a Foreign Ministry spokesman. "They are an opportunity for leaders to exchange views on the many serious challenges facing ASEAN in advance of the ASEAN Summit" to be held in Brunei later this year.
"There is an urgent need for ASEAN countries to work together to restore ASEAN's international credibility and the region's attractiveness as an investment destination," the spokesman said.
The flurry of trips present an opportunity to focus on the economic challenge posed by China in attracting investments away from Southeast Asian countries.
Singapore's leaders have long been exhorting the 10-member ASEAN to double its efforts to regain its lost luster.
ASEAN groups Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma).
Thaksin, Arroyo and Megawati are making stops here as part of their introductory visits to ASEAN countries.
Jusuf Wanandi, with Indonesia's Center of Strategic and International Studies, told The Straits Times ASEAN "needs a new pressure point so that members can rally around for a common cause."
"Intra-ASEAN cooperative can be enhanced now, given the economic competition these states are facing from Northeast Asia," he was quoted as saying.
Singapore's Trade and Industry Ministry has unveiled a new initiative aimed at boosting the city-state's share in the growing China market by hiking the numbers of trade delegations and sending government scholars on stints.
Minister George Yeo will be leading a business delegation from 26 companies to China's western region of Xinjiang on Monday to seek new markets and opportunities.