Growth Triangle preparations go forth
Growth Triangle preparations go forth
MEDAN (JP): The third ministerial meeting on the Indonesia,
Malaysia and Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) project ended here
yesterday with an accord to eliminate the remaining obstacles to
the tri-partite economic cooperation as soon as possible.
Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto who led
the Indonesian delegation to the talks said yesterday the a
number of barriers remain to further development, although he was
optimistic they will eventually overcome.
Hartarto added that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had
reported to the meeting the conclusion of its study that IMT-GT
is a viable project for development.
"The final feasibility report by ADB will be completed in
July. In the meantime the three countries have also agreed to
encourage private businessmen to set up joint ventures and other
forms of economic cooperation.
He said that under the agreed minutes signed by him,
Malaysia's Chief Minister Perlis Abdul Hamid Pawanteh and
Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi, the
cooperation programs will be discussed further in the fourth
meeting.
"There are several obstacles to economic cooperation related
to customs, border-crossing visas and cross-border trade that
have yet to be resolved. That's why we should set some
institutional reforms," he said.
According to Hartarto, business cooperation in the growth
triangle will include five projects in trade, agriculture and
fisheries, industry and energy, tourism, telecommunications and
transportation.
"The three countries agreed that tourism would be the leading
sector in developing the growth triangle areas," he said.
The meeting held at Tiara Convention Center, was also
attended by Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto and
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave,
Governor of Aceh Samsuddin Machmud and Governor of North Sumatra
Raja Inal Siregar.
Joop concurred that tourism indeed is one of the leading
sectors in the growth triangle as the industry is easy to
develop, while the supporting infrastructures are already in
place.
"We will invite Indonesia's Merpati Nusantara Airlines,
Mandala, Sempati or Bouraq and Malaysia's Pelangi Air to link up
the growth triangle areas," Haryanto said.
The growth triangle concept links northwestern Malaysia's
Penang and Kedah, the southern Thai provinces of Satun, Songkha,
Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, and North Sumatra and Aceh in
Indonesia.
There have been 11 cooperation agreements signed between
companies from the three countries, including those in specialist
hospital in Medan, television broadcasting, land bridge inter-
connections, power, sea-links and meat importing.
The IMT-GT will be the second triangle agreement to be
established by members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) after the Sijori Triangle, comprising Riau in
Indonesia, Singapore and Johor in Malaysia.
ASEAN's members are Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei and
the Philippines. Manila has also invited Brunei, Indonesia and
Malaysia to establish another growth area.
The idea for IMT-GT was initially developed last July in
Langkawi island in Malaysia. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has
agreed to provide US$1.4 million in a technical assistance grant
for a long-term study on the project.
The fourth meeting on the IMT-GT programs will be held on
Sept. 28 in Penang, Malaysia. (rmn/icn)