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)