East Asian summit to focus on recovery

East Asian summit to focus on recovery

SINGAPORE (AP): Whether Asia's economic recovery is here to
stay is the question on the minds of top economists and
businessmen, gathering in Singapore for a conference beginning
Monday.

The three-day eighth annual East Asian summit, organized by
the World Economic Forum, a private agency based in Switzerland,
will also take a look at new growth possibilities in the region.

Three leaders - Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad,
Thailand's Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and Singapore's Prime
Minister Goh Chok Tong - are expected to take part, in addition
to the more than 700 economists and businessmen from all over the
world.

Arriving ahead of the summit, the Thai prime minister was to
meet Sunday with his Singapore counterpart Goh, officials said.

The summit this year strikes a sharp contrast with last year's
event, also held in Singapore, which took place at the height of
Asia's economic gloom.

The forum's top official noted that the Asian economic crisis
is now over and the flow of international capital into the region
is ready to increase.

"Post-crisis Asia is emerging," Claude Smadja, managing
director of the World Economic Forum, said earlier this week.

"In coming months, a lot of players will be coming out of the
wait-and-see attitude to see if the recovery was real."

Beside coming up with a larger economic picture for the
region, the conference hopes to analyze the region country by
country, Smadja said.

Following the 1997 regional economic crisis, Asian nations
have vowed to undertake reforms to liberalize their economies and
make them more open.

The summit is also expected to give attention especially to
the situation in China and Japan.

Among the participants are Stanley Roth, U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs;
Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer; Stanley Fischer,
deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund; and
Joseph Stiglitz, vice-president of the World Bank.

Lee Kuan Yew, former prime minister of Singapore and the city-
state's most influential politician, is also expected to speak at
the conference.

The meeting will also address the security situation in the
region, particularly Indonesia, which will elect a president
later this week.