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Press Statement by ASEAN's Secretar



Subject: Press Statement by ASEAN's Secretary-General.


			Press Statement
			*************** 
	H.E. Dato' Ajit Singh, Secretary-General of ASEAN
	*************************************************
             on the 30th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
	     *************************************
                      Jakarta, 18 July 1997
		      *********************	

Overview
--------

     1. The 30th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and Post Ministerial
     Conferences (AMM/PMC) and the 4th ASEAN Regional Forum
     (ARF) will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 24-28 July 1997.
     (Please refer to Annex for details of the programme).

     2. The highlight of the event is the admission of Laos and Myanmar into
     ASEAN on 23 July 1997. This development brings the vision of the
     founding fathers of ASEAN to establish an Association for all
     Southeast Asian countries closer to reality. Cambodia currently enjoys
     an Observer status and its admission has been delayed in the light 
     of the
     unfortunate events which occurred in early July in that country.

     3. During the Admission Ceremony, Laos and Myanmar shall
     individually sign a Declaration on Admission and a Protocol for the
     Accession of their respective countries into 11 major ASEAN
     agreements. These include, the Agreement on the Establishment of the
     ASEAN Secretariat, Agreement on the Establishment of a Fund for
     ASEAN, Agreement on the ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Scheme
     as well as the Agreement on the CEPT for AFTA, among others.

     4. The Admission Declaration will, among other things, spell out the
     commitments of a new ASEAN Member to extend, on a reciprocal
     basis, Most Favoured Nation, (MFN), treatment to all other ASEAN
     members. The Declaration also binds a new ASEAN member to
     ensure transparency in its trade regime on goods and services by
     keeping all ASEAN members informed of its laws and regulations and
     subsequent changes thereof. 

     5. The 9 Member Countries of ASEAN will have a combined
     population of 481.2 million (1996), a total GDP of US $ 632.5 billion
     (1996), a GDP per capita of US $ 1,314 (1996) and combined
     exports of about US $ 339.2 billion (1996).

     6. ASEAN is a major investor in Laos and Myanmar. As of the first
     quarter of 1997, ASEAN accounted for 52% of the total foreign direct
     investment in Laos. As of August 1996, ASEAN accounted for 44% of
     the total foreign direct investment in Myanmar. 

Political Situation
-------------------

     7. Notwithstanding the situation in Cambodia, the rest of Southeast
     Asia remains generally stable. ASEAN remains hopeful that Cambodia
     can join ASEAN as soon as circumstances permit. The ASEAN
     Foreign Ministers, at their Special Meeting held on 10 July 1997, 
     stated
     that ASEAN Countries stand ready to contribute their efforts to the
     peaceful resolution of the situation in Cambodia. They also decided to
     send a delegation to seek an audience with His Majesty King Norodom
     Sihanouk and also to call on the two co-Prime Ministers with a view to
     contributing to the peaceful solution to the situation in Cambodia.

     8. The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) has developed into an
     important forum for multilateral political and security dialogue and
     cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. The 4th ARF is expected to
     endorse the recommendations of the various activities held over the
     past year, namely, Inter-sessional Support Group on
     Confidence-Building (ISG-CBM), Inter-sessional Meeting on Disaster
     Relief (ISM-DR), Inter-sessional Meeting on Search and Rescue
     Cooperation (ISM-SAR) and the Inter-sessional Meeting on
     Peacekeeping Operations (ISM-PO). 

     9. The Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone,
     signed by the ASEAN Heads of Government at the 5th ASEAN
     Summit in December 1995, has been in force since 27 March 1997.
     The ASEAN Working Group on SEANWFZ is currently holding
     consultations with all five Nuclear Weapon States with a view to 
     getting
     them to sign the Protocol of the Treaty.

Economic Cooperation
--------------------

     10. The 30th AMM/PMC will be held amidst continued economic
     development of the region. Over the past year, ASEAN economies
     continued to demonstrate their dynamism and competitiveness.
     Economic growth in ASEAN is forecast to reach between 7 to 8
     percent in 1997 bolstered by investment, exports and consumer
     spending. Inflation is expected to ease from 4.8% in 1996 to 4.6% this
     year.

     11. In 1996, intra-ASEAN trade continued to grow in spite of the
     slowdown of export growth experienced by some Member Countries.
     For the first three quarters of 1996, intra-ASEAN exports of all
     products reached US $ 56.078 billion. This was 10.62% higher than
     the US $ 50.696 billion of intra-ASEAN exports during the same
     period in 1996.

     12. Following the decision of the Fifth ASEAN Summit in 1995, to
     establish a regional arrangement on investment, ASEAN is currently
     drafting the Framework Agreement on ASEAN Investment Area
     (AIA) which is expected to be ready by the 30th ASEAN Economic
     Ministers Meeting in 1998. Significant progress has been achieved in
     implementing the 1996-1998 Work Programme to execute the Plan of
     Action on Cooperation and Promotion of Foreign Direct Investment
     and Intra-ASEAN Investment. Projects under the existing Work
     Programme include, among others, human resource development, a
     series of joint promotion events in Asia and Europe, high-level 
     strategic
     planning meetings, improving the 1987 ASEAN Agreement for the
     Promotion and Protection of Investment and undertaking of a
     comprehensive survey on the promotion of FDI into and within
     ASEAN.

     13. This year marks the halfway point of the implementation of the
     CEPT Scheme for AFTA. As of 31 May 1997, Member Countries
     have included 42,253 tariff lines into the CEPT Scheme representing
     91% of all tariff lines in ASEAN. Average tariff rates for products 
     in the
     Inclusion List have now fallen to 6.38% from 12.76% in 1993.

     14. Laos and Myanmar are expected to participate in the CEPT
     Scheme beginning 1 January 1998 and to complete their commitments
     under the CEPT Scheme by 1 January 2008. They are required to
     undertake a comprehensive programme of tariff reduction to 0-5%
     within 10 years. Laos and Myanmar have submitted their respective
     initial Inclusion List of products for the CEPT Scheme. The initial
     package of tariff reduction for Laos accounts for about 15% of her
     total tariff lines. About 45% of these tariff lines are in the 
     Machinery
     and Electrical Appliances Sector and about 20% in the Optical,
     Precision and Musical Instruments Sector. Myanmar has submitted the
     full package of Inclusion List, Temporary Exclusion List, Sensitive 
     List
     and General Exception List. The initial Inclusion List accounts for 
     about
     43% of the total tariff lines. About 20% of these tariff lines are 
     the Base
     Metal and Metal Articles and 14% are in the Machinery and Electrical
     Appliances. Products from the Optical, Precision and Musical
     Instruments Sector, the Chemical Sector and Agricultural Sector
     account for about 9% each.

     15. With the participation of Laos and Myanmar, the Inclusion List
     under the CEPT Scheme will increase from 42, 253 tariff lines to about
     45, 119 tariff lines or about 81% of the total tariff lines in 
     ASEAN. 

     16. The new ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Scheme (AICO), which
     become operational in November 1996, is also aimed at attracting
     capital investments through the granting of preferential tariff 
     rates and
     other non-tariff incentives. A number of applications are being
     processed at the moment. They include products in the automotive
     sector, electrical appliances and food processing.

     17. Cooperation in the field of finance also made notable progress with
     the implementation of the Ministerial Understanding on Finance
     Cooperation and the ASEAN Agreement on Customs signed early this
     year. The MU provides a framework for enhancing cooperation in
     banking, financial and capital market development, customs matters,
     insurance matters, taxation and public finance matters, monetary policy
     cooperation and human resources development in the area of finance.
     The ASEAN Agreement on Customs is expected to facilitate greater
     intra-regional trade and investment flow. These instruments will help
     ASEAN expedite its integration process and support the early
     realization of the various existing regional arrangements and schemes
     such as AFTA, AIA and AICO.

Functional Cooperation
----------------------

     18. Cooperation in the fields of science and technology, environment,
     culture and information, social development and drugs and narcotics
     control has accelerated with the adoption of the Framework for
     Elevating Functional Cooperation to a Higher Plane at the 29th AMM
     last year. 

     19. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers will launch the ASEAN Award
     which is aimed at giving recognition to individuals and 
     organizations for
     their outstanding work and contribution to the region consistent 
     with the
     objectives of ASEAN. The details of the Award such as the recipients
     and what they will receive will be agreed to by the 30th ASEAN
     Ministerial Meeting.

     20. The Foreign Ministers also expected to endorse the establishment
     of an ASEAN Foundation. The objective of the ASEAN Foundation is
     to help promote ASEAN awareness, greater interaction among the
     peoples of ASEAN and wider participation in ASEAN's activities. It's
     activities will be jointly undertaken by ASEAN and the private sector.
     A Memorandum of Agreement on the establishment of the ASEAN
     Foundation will be signed during the Commemorative Summit in Kuala
     Lumpur in December this year.

Preparations for the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN
----------------------------------------------

     21. The 30th AMM will be briefed on the various projects and
     activities to commemorate ASEAN's 30th Anniversary. These activities
     will be undertaken both at the regional and national levels. The
     celebrations will be launched on 8 August 1997 at the ASEAN
     Reception in Jakarta by H.E. President Soeharto. Some of the
     region-wide activities include the holding of an ASEAN
     Commemorative Summit in Kuala Lumpur in December 1997, the
     presentation of ASEAN Citation to the founding fathers of ASEAN in
     December 1997, presentation of ASEAN Awards, as well as poster,
     essay and photo competitions to be organised by the ASEAN
     Secretariat. A documentary video on ASEAN will also be shown on all
     national televisions on 8 August 1997. Individual Member Countries
     will also be undertaking activities, such as, the issuance of
     commemorative stamps, trade exhibitions and ASEAN Day newspaper
     supplements.

External Relations
------------------

     22. ASEAN now has 11 Dialogue Partners. China, India and the
     Russian Federation were the latest to become Dialogue Partners in
     1996. Sectoral Dialogue relations with Pakistan have been formalised
     with the exchange of letters between the Secretary-General of ASEAN
     and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan in June 1997.

     23. Over the past year, contacts with other inter-governmental
     organisations were further developed. These regional organisations
     included the CER of Australia and New Zealand, Economic
     Cooperation Organisation (ECO), the Mercusor of Latin America, the
     South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the
     Southern African Development Community (SADC). 

     24. The Secretary-General of ASEAN paid an official visit to Argentina
     and Brazil in March and April 1997 to work out a proposal for linkages
     between ASEAN and MERCUSOR. Informal consultations took place
     between the Economic Ministers of both groupings during the WTO
     Ministerial Conference in Singapore in December 1996 and another
     meeting is planned in October 1997 in Kuala Lumpur during the
     ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting.

	[18 July 1997, ASEAN press release]


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