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Reuters : Albright to tell Asia ref



Albright to tell Asia reform needed for investment 
03:51 a.m. Jul 26, 1998 Eastern 

By Carol Giacomo 

MANILA, July 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
arrived here on Sunday for talks in which she was expected to tell Asian
nations that American companies were ready to invest in their region
despite the economic crisis if there are moves toward reforms. 

Albright was to have separate bilateral meetings with Japan's prime
minister-designate, Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi, and Philippine Foreign
Minister Domingo Siazon on Sunday night and then attend a dinner of the
ASEAN Regional Forum, a security group which holds its annual conference on
Monday. 

She will be the first U.S. cabinet member to meet Obuchi since he was
elected on Friday as head of the Liberal Democratic Party, which is
tantamount to designation as Japan's next prime minister. 

Despite the year-old financial crisis that has sent Asia into a tailspin,
``we are hearing from a lot of our business community (that) there is a
genuine interest in investing in these countries,'' a senior State
Department official said. 

But the ability of these firms to make new long term investments in Asia
``will require commitments on the other side to long-term
non-discriminatory treatment'' in business, including more openness in
business pratices, better accounting procedures and improved government
procurement standards, he said. 

Albright stopped in San Francisco on Friday and met businessmen who said
``they would love to get into some of these (Asian) countries but they find
that in some of these sectors where they have an interest, they don't see
the types of arrangements and conditions that would let them get
involved,'' the official told reporters. 

The official, accompanying Albright to the annual meeting of the
Association of South East Asian Nations, said she would seek to spur
discussion ``about the importance of working together to establish a better
environment for long-term investment.'' 

She also would urge ASEAN to reiterate a commitment to trade
liberalisation, underscoring the U.S. belief that opening markets to
greater competition is among the medium-term solutions to the regional
economic crisis, he said. 

Albright, in San Francisco on Friday, bluntly warned Asia the financial
crisis will only worsen if countries there do not take their ``medicine''
and implement reforms. 

``In some countries, the medicine of economic reform is bitter. It requires
that the old ways of doing business must change, inefficient firms close
and cosy relationships break up. 

The consequences for workers and families caught in the middle can be
difficult and unfair,'' she said. 

``But this does not change the fact that reform is medicine. If refused,
the illness only grows worse. If taken, recovery becomes only a matter of
time,'' she added. 

Albright also expressed concern about the potential for social unrest in
Indonesia, where the economic downturn has caused fears of starvation. 

U.S. officials said they would encourage serious discussion of the ``social
dimension'' of the economic crisis -- essentially its devastating effect on
ordinary people -- and this could help restore confidence that crucial
issues are being addressed. 

Albright in Friday's speech also reiterated the U.S. push for Japan's new
leadership to take quick action to stimulate and deregulate the country's
economy and to ``clean up'' its banking system. 

U.S. officials said that would also be discussed in her meeting Sunday with
Obuchi. 

The officials rejected suggestions Albright would deliver a ``tough''
message, saying instead that she would underscore such reforms are in the
interests of the Japanese people. 

For instance, Japan is increasingly concerned about its ageing society yet
the only way to pay for such a society's needs is with a growing economy,
one senior U.S. official said. 

Besides, he added, Japan knows ``the markets are watching.'' 

Myanmar and Cambodia will also be in the spotlight at the Manila gathering.


U.S. officials said they considered it significant that ASEAN members
decided against admitting Cambodia to the nine-member organisation until
the results of Sunday's election are clear. 

Thailand had been pushing an agenda of greater openness partly because it
feels the pressure of illegal workers entering the country from
military-led Myanmar, giving it first-hand experience of the fall-out from
political turmoil in a neighbouring country. 

Myanmar was admitted into ASEAN last year despite its pariah status in the
West. The apparent lack of progress in resolving the long conflict between
the military junta and pro-democracy campaigners is an embarrassment to
some in the association. 

The Philippine minister Siazon told the closing news conference that he
wanted to see the process of national reconciliation in Myanmar
accelerated. 

U.S. officials said they were encouraged that some members of ASEAN,
traditionally reluctant to interfere in other countries' affairs, displayed
more concern this year over Myanmar.