New forum is "missing link" for Asian cooperation: Singapore FM
New forum is "missing link" for Asian cooperation: Singapore FM
Agencies Cha-Am, Thailand
Singapore Foreign Minister Shunmugam Jayakumar on Wednesday praised a new Asian forum as a "missing link" for regional dialog.
Jayakumar was joining ministers from 16 other countries in this seaside resort for discussions as part of the new Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).
The forum is aimed at boosting cooperation on the world's largest continent, but Jayakumar warned against setting unrealistic goals at a gathering which has been criticized by some as unnecessary.
"The advantage of this initiative is that it meets a missing link between west Asia, the Gulf countries, south Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and east Asian cooperation," Jayakumar told reporters on the sidelines of the ACD.
"At the same time, we must be careful not to be overambitious and unrealistic," he said. "The challenge is how this new group can be more than a talk shop."
Urging officials from the member nations to combine their resources and skills to pull the continent out of poverty and conflict, Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who inaugurated the ACD, said "We must learn to trust, confide and work together for our mutual benefits, not viewing one another as competitors."
"Asia is like a giant holding company with many diversified entities... The uniqueness of each Asian entity when combined becomes an enormous asset for Asia as a whole," he said.
Jayakumar said there was a consensus to start "step-by-step" identification of areas of cooperation including tourism, small- medium enterprises, and energy.
A Thai government spokesman said before the meeting began that the forum would steer clear of contentious politics and focus on economics and social issues such as poverty alleviation.
Indian Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said it was important that the ACD step beyond the conventional regional groupings to avoid "duplicating what is already being done".
"We have various subregions in Asia and trans-regional cooperation in Asia is something that would be new ground," he told reporters.
Jayakumar also said ministers declined to set up an organizational structure for the ACD.
"We don't want to overreach ourselves in having a big institutional system or structure, but obviously there has to be some coordination and Thailand has agreed to (do it) for the immediate future."
The 17 countries attending the ACD include ASEAN's Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, along with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Qatar and Bahrain.
Myanmar, which has had strained border relations with neighboring Thailand over the past month, declined to attend.
It has already been agreed that the ACD members will not try to douse the various conflicts in the region. This means the burning border standoff between India and Pakistan, both of which are represented at the forum, will not be raised, nor will irritants between Malaysia and Singapore. Keeping Chinese sensitivities in mind, Taiwan was not invited.