Dialog key to stronger EU-ASEAN cooperation

Dialog key to stronger EU-ASEAN cooperation

JAKARTA (JP): Improved dialog between the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) will
be critical to promoting cooperation, the union's ambassador to
Indonesia, Klauspeter Schmallenbach, said yesterday.

"Looking to the future, we can certainly predict that dialog
between the EU and ASEAN is going to be more intense and fecund
than ever. ASEAN will remain a cornerstone of the EU's dialog
with Asian countries," he told members of the Indonesia-
Netherlands Association.

The EU, with its 15 member states, has become one of ASEAN's
largest trading partners, an important source of private
investment and a major donor of development assistance.

Rapid economic growth in most ASEAN countries has led to the
expansion of trade between the two regions. Since 1980, ASEAN's
total two-way trade with the EU increased by an impressive 460
percent. The EU's exports to the ASEAN region rose from 5.5
billion European Currency Units (US$ 7.26 billion) in 1980 to
27.8 billion ECUs last year, while the EU's imports from the
ASEAN increased from 7 billion ECUs to 30 billion ECUs.

For Indonesia, over the period of 1967-1994, the EU had over
US$22 billion in approved investments, or 24 percent of total
foreign investments for non-financial and non-oil sectors in
Indonesia.

Despite the impressive growth in trade and investment
cooperation between the two regions, Smallenbach added that there
are still differences of opinion on issues of anti-dumping, the
so-called social clause on labor rights and green protectionism.

An economic cooperation package has been created by the EU to
facilitate the development of stronger economic relations with
ASEAN, he said.

The package includes the establishment of an information
network called the European Business Information Center, which
will operate in cooperation with the member states' business
organizations, including their chambers of commerce.

The business center will also assist Asian companies seeking
to do business in Europe and European companies entering ASEAN
markets.(10)