ASEAN ministers end trade meeting with few results

ASEAN ministers end trade meeting with few results

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (Reuters): Southeast Asian economics
ministers wrapped up a two-day informal meeting on Friday after
exchanging views on weathering the chillier global economic
climate and offering tax concessions to poorer members.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in
the northern Cambodian town of Siem Reap came up with few
concrete agreements, however, and was mainly a chance for member
countries to discuss strategy.

"There was coordination and an exchange of views on the recent
economic developments in the world, like the slowdown of the U.S.
economy and so on, and how they impact direct investment in the
areas of ASEAN," Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh told
reporters on Friday.

"We tried to define our common strategy to help attract
foreign investment into ASEAN as a whole, as a grouping, not just
as separate countries."

He said ministers had also discussed at length the
implementation of the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement signed last
year in Singapore.

The agreement aims to develop information technology skills in
the region and help the newer, less developed countries of ASEAN
-- Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos -- catch up with the
original six member countries technologically.

ASEAN's six original members are Brunei, Thailand, Singapore,
the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

On Thursday, the ministers announced tax concessions on goods
exported from the four newest and poorest members to the six
original member countries.

Thai Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik told a news
conference on Friday that the ministers had endorsed six
projects, mostly pertaining to information technology, proposed
at their last meeting in October 2000.

The projects included environmental protection training,
information-sharing among engineers in ASEAN member countries,
developing industrial standards, creating software for use in the
Greater Mekong subregion and sharing resources to create a
satellite image archive and environmental study.

"The ministers urged the early implementation of the six
projects, which should be shepherded and coordinated by the
proposing countries," Adisai said.

Progress on the projects will be measured at a meeting in
Brunei in November, he added.

Adisai also said the group supported China's bid to join the
World Trade Organization (WTO), as well the efforts of three
ASEAN member countries to join.

"The ministers welcomed the impending accession of the
People's Republic of China and supported the acceleration of the
accession process for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam," he said. "We
hope China is in the WTO as soon as possible."

Chinese Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng said negotiations were
in the final stages and he did not expect the United States to
attempt to delay or halt China's bid following the spy plane
standoff last month.

"It will not depend on the attitude of individual countries.
Rather, it should be subject to the multilateral trade
negotiations and only by the multilateral negotiations can we
achieve the final result," he said.

Economic ministers from six ASEAN nations were joined by their
counterparts from China and South Korea in Siem Reap, home of the
fabled Angkor temples, for the informal retreat.

Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia sent deputy
officials, as did Japan.

China, South Korea and Japan are part of the so-called "ASEAN
plus three" umbrella, which has been discussing the creation of
an East Asian economic community that could eventually lead to a
formal regional grouping along the lines of the European Union.