Meeting to discuss triangle cooperation
Meeting to discuss triangle cooperation
JAKARTA (JP): Economic ministers and top businessmen from
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand will hold a meeting in
Lhokseumawe, Aceh, next month to discuss triangular cooperation
between their neighboring territories, according to an Indonesian
official.
Kosim Gandataruna, the chairman of the steering committee for
the meeting, said yesterday that a number of important economic
issues, such as investment incentives, will be discussed during
the four-day meeting.
The meeting, which is scheduled for Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, will
be the sixth held by the three neighboring members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss their
growth triangle cooperation plan.
Kosim said the Indonesian delegation at the meeting will
include Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution
Hartarto, Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop
Ave, Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, Manpower
Minister Abdul Latief and Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky
Ariwibowo.
Kosim, a senior assistant to Coordinating Minister Hartarto,
said that businessmen of the three neighboring countries will
meet on the first day of the meeting.
Senior officials will meet on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 to hammer out
important topics, including possible incentives that could be
granted by each participating country to stimulate the proposed
cooperation, he said, adding that the results of the senior
officials' meeting would be further deliberated in the
ministerial meeting, which will be held on Oct. 3.
The Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand triangle, linking Indonesia's
northern Sumatra, southern provinces of Thailand and western
states of Malaysia, is the second sub-regional growth center
established by ASEAN in the last five years.
The first cooperation agreement was the Indonesia-Malaysia-
Singapore Growth Triangle (IMS-GT), linking Riau province,
Singapore and the Johor state of Malaysia into an integrated
economic center.
The latest subregional growth center is the Brunei-Indonesia-
Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA),
encompassing Kalimantan and Sulawesi of Indonesia, Sarawak of
Malaysia, Brunei and the southern provinces of the Philippines.
(hen)