BIMP-EAGA to hold seminar in Manado

BIMP-EAGA to hold seminar in Manado

JAKARTA (JP): Businesspeople from Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Brunei Darussalam will meet in Manado, the
provincial capital of North Sulawesi, later this week to promote
business relations.

The businessmen grouped under the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia
Malaysia-the Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) will
hold an economic seminar and trade exhibition in the four-day
meeting which will open on Saturday.

BIMP-East ASEAN Business Council (BIMP-EABC) country director
Datuk Hakim Thantawi said on Monday the business meeting was
intended to boost economic development, especially in the eastern
regions of Indonesia.

"We hope to make Manado the Indonesian business gateway in the
eastern region," he said. The meeting will try to explore
business opportunities for trade and investment, tourism and
services, Datuk said.

Some 150 foreign businesspeople from the BIMP-EAGA members and
the Australia-Indonesia Development Area (AIDA), as well as from
Thailand, Korea, China-Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Canada and
Argentina will also be participating.

More than 700 local small and medium enterprises will also
join the meeting representing 13 provinces in Kalimantan,
Sulawesi, Maluku, Irian Jaya, Nusa Tenggara and Bali.

"We are focusing on the small and medium enterprises because
they were the ones who turned the wheels of economy during the
crises," Hakim said.

BIMP-EAGA, one of sub-regional economic cooperation forums
established by members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations in March 1994, links Brunei, eastern Malaysia, the
southern Philippines and eastern Indonesia.

A seminar will also be part of the four-day event and will
feature Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Finance, and
Industry Kwik Kian Gie and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi
Shihab as keynote speakers. (10)