Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Asean transport leaders bat for reforms in region
SENIOR transport officials hope to sign tomorrow an agreement that encourages the 10 Asean members to work more closely in investigating aircraft accidents.
The memorandum of understanding is expected to be the highlight of the 25th Senior Transport Officials’ Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) that began yesterday in Lapu-Lapu City.
Officials also hope to speed up discussions on transport projects, as the regional bloc seeks to create a unified Asean economic community by 2015, said Undersecretary Annelie Lontoc of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
Agreement
Asean member-states hope to come up with a memorandum of agreement on the free flow of goods, services and people within the region. At present, citizens of the 10 member-countries can travel within the Asean region with no visa required.
Bureau of Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales chairs the committee that is studying the proposed “One Window” policy that will lead to uniform fees for imports and exports.
Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Chief Cerge Remonde, who led the opening of the meeting, said that all the member-countries could push their tourism programs further if the transport sectors remove national barriers to the movement of people and goods.
As other regional blocs strengthen themselves, Asean faces the challenge of becoming “more cohesive, harnessing strengths and minimizing each other’s weaknesses” to compete with the rest of the world, Remonde added.
Key challenges
In a press statement, DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza said that the meeting’s theme (“One vision, one identity, one community”) embodies the willingness and determination of Asean member-countries to manage the key challenges of regional integration, economic growth and new technologies, through transportation initiatives.
The Asean brings together Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Thailand, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Earlier this month, Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said the regional bloc’s economies are well-positioned to withstand global financial uncertainty, despite export-dependent economies and increasingly integrated financial systems.
Asean member-states have stronger macroeconomic fundamentals than during the 1997 economic crisis, Pitsuwan said in a statement. Average growth across Asean’s 10 member-states of 6.7 percent in 2007, strong domestic demand, increased foreign reserves and lower external debt all helped put the region on a surer footing, he said. (EOB/(With AFP & PIA)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 28, 2008 issue)
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