ASEAN members told to unite against common problems

ASEAN members told to unite against common problems

BANGKOK (AFP): Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra told a meeting
of Southeast Asian parliamentarians here Monday that regional
governments needed to be "more united and sincere" in tackling
their common problems.

Thaksin opened the 22nd general assembly of the ASEAN Inter-
Parliamentary Organisation (AIPO), a week-long conference where
250 delegates and observers will discuss security and cooperation
among member states.

"We, the members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations), should concentrate more on forging closer ties with our
neighboring countries," the prime minister said.

"Our region has great diversity in resources, manpower and
skills. Therefore, we are in a good position to cooperate."

"We need to be more united and sincere in addressing our
common problems amid the ever-changing global economic
environment," he said.

Thaksin said Southeast Asia must learn how to respond quickly
to the changes and reposition its scarce assets if it hoped to
fully recovery from the 1997 economic meltdown.

"We all must become more self-reliant and cooperate with each
other in both trade and investment to overcome this and any
future crisis," he said.

Observers from Australia, Canada, China, Europe and the United
States are attending the conference, which runs until Friday.
Women parliamentarians from AIPO will also hold talks.

The inter-parliamentary organisation comprises delegates from
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.

The other two ASEAN members not part of the AIPO grouping,
Brunei and Myanmar, have no legislatures but will attend the
meeting as observers.

Aye Maung, a member of Myanmar's National Convening
Commission, said his delegation hoped to learn from the delegates
and "consequently give some of our ideas to AIPO."

He said ideas presented at the meeting could help his
delegation in its work of preparing the foundation for a draft
constitution in Myanmar.

"We are laying down the principles for the drafting of the
future constitution for our country," Aye Maung told AFP.

AIPO was initiated by Indonesia in 1974 and officially
established as an organisation in 1977. This is the fifth time
Thailand has hosted an AIPO assembly.