Asia, Europe to seek wider business links

Asia, Europe to seek wider business links

SINGAPORE (AFP): About 500 corporate chiefs and government
officials, including four heads of government, will meet here
this week to debate ways of expanding economic links between Asia
and Europe, meeting organizers said yesterday.

Officials of the World Economic Forum (WEF) based in Davos,
Switzerland, which is organizing the Third Europe-East Asia
Economic Summit, said the conference starting today would spell
out concrete steps for closer European-Asian links.

Colette Mathur, director of the WEF, said that while Europe
and Asia had established links with America, there was a feeling
that Asia's links with Europe could be improved and expanded to
benefit both regions.

"The Third Europe-East Asia Economic Summit is more important
than our two previous meetings. Not only have we attracted
greater attention but we will have increased participation of
public figures and business leaders," Mathur said.

Among those who will address the three-day conference are
Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad, Philippine President Fidel Ramos and Cambodia's
First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh.

Officials who will attend the meeting include Italian Trade
Minister Georgio Bernini, former French premier Raymond Barre,
Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz, Thai Deputy Premier
Supachai Panitchpakdi and Belgium Commerce Minister Robert
Urbain.

Indonesia will be represented by its Coordinating Minister for
Industry and Trade Hartarto, China by Minister for the State
Economic and Trade Commission Wang Zhongyu and Australia by its
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Peter Cook.

WEF officials said participants will discuss ways of
overcoming major differences and difficulties that businessmen
face in forging closer links and issue an action plan at the end
of the talks.

The WEF is an independent, non-profit foundation based in
Switzerland and is committed to forging closer ties between
political, business and academic leaders.