Hartarto to lead mission at ASEAN talk

JAKARTA (JP): Coordinating Minister for Trade and Industry Hartarto will lead the Indonesian delegation to the annual meeting of economic ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Thursday and Friday.

The economic ministers of the six-member ASEAN will discuss regional economic cooperation, including the ASEAN Free Trade Area (Afta), the Asia and Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), East Asian Economic Caucus (EAEC) and smaller cooperation frameworks among member countries.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The ministerial meeting was preceded by a senior official's meeting which ended yesterday.

Afta Council also held a meeting yesterday to discuss free trade arrangements.

A spokesman for the office of the Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade said yesterday that the ministerial meeting would be followed by a meeting among ASEAN economic ministers, Japan's minister of trade and industry and Vietnamese officials.

According to The Bangkok Post, the senior official's meeting in Chiang Mai reached an agreement on an APEC stance after lengthy discussions Monday.

The Thai newspaper reported that APEC issues had been dominated by the foreign ministries of member states rather than by the trade, commerce or other economic affairs ministries.

Senior officials agreed to shorten from 15 years to 10 years the deadline for reducing preferential tariffs under Afta to between zero and five percent, and to include unspecified unprocessed agricultural products. The new deadline would be Jan. 1, 2003.

The deadline for the so-called fast track program would be shortened to five years from seven under recommendations adopted by senior officials, which are to be submitted at the ministerial meeting for approval. (hen)