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Reuters-ASEAN keen to bind members



Subject: Reuters-ASEAN keen to bind members together electronically 

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ASEAN keen to bind members together electronically=20
01:47 a.m. Nov 23, 1999 Eastern=20
MANILA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Information technology will take centrestage =
at a summit of 10 Southeast Asian nations this weekend as they seek to =
promote their communications industries, a senior regional official said =
on Tuesday.=20

Leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet =
senior executives of information technology companies and discuss how to =
promote their electronics industries, said ASEAN Secretary-General =
Rodolfo Severino.=20

``The leaders will be looking forward and looking particularly at the =
state of ASEAN's competitiveness in the new globalised economic =
environment,'' Severino told a news conference.=20

``Discussions at the summit I expect will centre on the industries of =
the future -- the knowledge industries -- and the need to ensure that =
the people of ASEAN acquire the skills to make them competitive in these =
industries,'' he said.=20

``Essentially we are looking at the ways in which to bind ASEAN together =
electronically, upgrade the skills of ASEAN's peoples to link them to =
the 'wired world' and to make sure that they can compete in these =
areas,'' he added.=20

``ASEAN leaders will be having a dialogue with leaders of the =
information technology industry,'' he said, but declined to say which =
companies or organisations would be involved.=20

ASEAN -- grouping Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, =
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- holds its third =
informal summit on November 28.=20

The gathering will be preceded by several days of meetings of officials =
and foreign, finance and trade ministers, who are due to review the =
region's recovery from the economic slump of the last two years.=20

ASEAN ACTIVITIES ``INTENSIFYING''=20

Severino said ASEAN activities were ``intensifying.''=20

``This reflects the rapidity of the changes in the security and economic =
environment in which ASEAN finds itself,'' he said.=20

Finance ministers would receive an ``economic surveillance'' report =
prepared by officials, which would look at economic data and movements =
of short-term capital, blamed by some for the Asian currency crisis of =
1997/98.=20

``Finance ministers take a much closer look now than they used to =
(before 1997) on the developments in the region.''=20

He said the ASEAN surveillance process provided ``peer review'' and =
``mutual assistance'' and was not an opportunity for the singling out of =
countries with macro-economic problems or poor policies: ``It is not =
about calling members to account.''=20

The so-called ``ASEAN surveillance process'' involves training in =
macro-economics and officials from three ASEAN countries, including the =
Philippines, have recently attended some courses, he said.=20

``What we have found out is the level of financial expertise in some of =
the countries of ASEAN really needs to be raised,'' Severino said. He =
declined to say in which ASEAN countries financial expertise was lacking =
and added:=20

``Everybody has lots of room for improvements. Even some developed =
countries have room for improvement.''=20

ASEAN leaders will also meet the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea =
after their own summit. The agenda is open and likely to include =
regional security, economic cooperation and next week's World Trade =
Organisation (WTO) talks in Seattle.=20





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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><FONT size=3D+1><STRONG>ASEAN keen to =
bind members=20
together electronically</STRONG></FONT> <BR>01:47 a.m. Nov 23, 1999 =
Eastern=20
<P>MANILA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Information technology will take =
centrestage at a=20
summit of 10 Southeast Asian nations this weekend as they seek to =
promote their=20
communications industries, a senior regional official said on Tuesday.=20
<P>Leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will =
meet=20
senior executives of information technology companies and discuss how to =
promote=20
their electronics industries, said ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo =
Severino.=20
<P>``The leaders will be looking forward and looking particularly at the =
state=20
of ASEAN's competitiveness in the new globalised economic environment,'' =

Severino told a news conference.=20
<P>``Discussions at the summit I expect will centre on the industries of =
the=20
future -- the knowledge industries -- and the need to ensure that the =
people of=20
ASEAN acquire the skills to make them competitive in these industries,'' =
he=20
said.=20
<P>``Essentially we are looking at the ways in which to bind ASEAN =
together=20
electronically, upgrade the skills of ASEAN's peoples to link them to =
the 'wired=20
world' and to make sure that they can compete in these areas,'' he =
added.=20
<P>``ASEAN leaders will be having a dialogue with leaders of the =
information=20
technology industry,'' he said, but declined to say which companies or=20
organisations would be involved.=20
<P>ASEAN -- grouping Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, =
Myanmar, the=20
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- holds its third informal =
summit=20
on November 28.=20
<P>The gathering will be preceded by several days of meetings of =
officials and=20
foreign, finance and trade ministers, who are due to review the region's =

recovery from the economic slump of the last two years.=20
<P>ASEAN ACTIVITIES ``INTENSIFYING''=20
<P>Severino said ASEAN activities were ``intensifying.''=20
<P>``This reflects the rapidity of the changes in the security and =
economic=20
environment in which ASEAN finds itself,'' he said.=20
<P>Finance ministers would receive an ``economic surveillance'' report =
prepared=20
by officials, which would look at economic data and movements of =
short-term=20
capital, blamed by some for the Asian currency crisis of 1997/98.=20
<P>``Finance ministers take a much closer look now than they used to =
(before=20
1997) on the developments in the region.''=20
<P>He said the ASEAN surveillance process provided ``peer review'' and =
``mutual=20
assistance'' and was not an opportunity for the singling out of =
countries with=20
macro-economic problems or poor policies: ``It is not about calling =
members to=20
account.''=20
<P>The so-called ``ASEAN surveillance process'' involves training in=20
macro-economics and officials from three ASEAN countries, including the=20
Philippines, have recently attended some courses, he said.=20
<P>``What we have found out is the level of financial expertise in some =
of the=20
countries of ASEAN really needs to be raised,'' Severino said. He =
declined to=20
say in which ASEAN countries financial expertise was lacking and added:=20
<P>``Everybody has lots of room for improvements. Even some developed =
countries=20
have room for improvement.''=20
<P>ASEAN leaders will also meet the leaders of Japan, China and South =
Korea=20
after their own summit. The agenda is open and likely to include =
regional=20
security, economic cooperation and next week's World Trade Organisation =
(WTO)=20
talks in Seattle.=20
<P><BR></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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