ASEAN to endorse growth area program

The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Leaders of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are ready to "recognize" the existence of the East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), designed to help boost trade between the neighboring countries, a senior Indonesian government official said on Sunday.

Firman Tamboen, the deputy at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, said that the move would ensure political commitment from the leaders to resolving lingering problems hampering economic cooperation.

"We hope that with this recognition, the leaders can address the problems," he told a press conference at the end of a senior officials meeting.

He said that a joint statement would be endorsed on Monday by Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and Philippines President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo.

Leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are gathering here for an annual summit.

Economic cooperation through BIMP-EAGA was started 10 years ago, but various programs under the arrangement were only signed by ministers of the four countries, thus lacking political strength as part of the effort to boost investment and trade linkages in the sub-region One example of the difficult problems faced was the transportation issue, Firman said.

"The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is currently helping us by conducting a survey for the building of a railway from Sabah in Malaysia to Kalimantan in Indonesia," Firman said.

He also said that the governments of the four countries would have to issue regulations to help improve coordination so as to attract fresh investment.