Saturday, October 20, 2007 BIMP-Eaga gabs get full force delegation
KEY officials and ministers from East Asean Growth Area (Eaga) countries such as Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are all set to converge at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City next week to discuss strategic directions for this regional cooperation.
On October 24-26, signing ministers, senior officials, private sector representatives and dialogue partners in Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga) organizations such as the BIMP-Eaga Business Council, BIMP-Facilitation Center, BIM National Secretariat, and the Asean Central Secretariat are expected to meet for the BIMP-Eaga 15th Senior Officials Meeting and 12th Ministerial Meeting.
An annual event, the SOM/MM is hosted by the member countries on a rotation basis. With the Philippine's turn to host the event this year, the SOM/MM will also highlight the turnover of its chairmanship from Malaysia to the Philippines.
This year's SOM/MM aims to assess the status of the development of the directives from the 3rd BIMP-Eaga Leaders' Summit, held in Cebu City early this year, and address any related issues and concerns in the implementation of the various cluster flagship programs and projects.
It will also discuss current undertakings and implementation of other joint cooperation with Eaga's development partners, as well as preparations for the forthcoming 4th BIMP-Eaga Leaders' Summit in Singapore next month.
As of Friday, Medco has registered more than 200 confirmed participants.
These include Eaga cluster heads for transport, infrastructure and ICT development; Eaga government officials for air, sea, infrastructure, agro-industry, fisheries, environment/forestry, energy, tourism, Small and Medium Enterprise Development (Smed) cluster, Customs, Immigration, Quarantine, and Security (CIQS), economic affairs and planning offices.
Also expected are chairs of the local CIQS Consultative Councils (LCCCS) and Philippine-Eaga CIQS Agencies as well as key representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Confed, and the Palawan LGU.
Other participants from the local private sector in the Philippines include the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mindanao Business Council (MinBC), the BIMP-EAGA Tourism Council, Armm Business Council, and the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) secretariat, who also serves as the key organizer of the event.
"The participation of these various representatives from the government and private sector from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines is very reflective of the essence of the growth area, which is that of forged partnerships for development in these four member-countries," said Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, Medco chair, the Philippine Coordinating Office for BIMP-Eaga.
"Next week, all BIMP-Eaga roads certainly lead to Mindanao, and we here in Davao are certainly honored to welcome all of them to this year's SOM/MM. I certainly look forward to the agreements that will be forged, as well as the trade and tourism opportunities that come with having visitors from the rest of the Eaga to visit us," added Leyretana.
