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                    COPYRIGHT 1999 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
                        XINHUA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

THE MATERIALS IN THE XINHUA FILE WERE COMPILED BY THE XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.
THESE MATERIALS MAY NOT BE REPUBLISHED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT
OF THE XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.

             December 14, 1999, Tuesday 08:58 AM Eastern Time

LENGTH: 274 words

HEADLINE: ASEAN IMMIGRATION MEETING ENDS IN MYANMAR

DATELINE: YANGON, DECEMBER 14

BODY:
   THE TWO-DAY THIRD MEETING OF DIRECTORS-GENERAL OF IMMIGRATION
DEPARTMENTS AND HEADS OF CONSULAR DIVISIONS OF MINISTRIES OF FOREIGN
AFFAIRS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN) ENDED HERE
TUESDAY EVENING WITH A JOINT PRESS STATEMENT.

ACCORDING TO THE STATEMENT, THE ASEAN IMMIGRATION AND CONSULAR OFFICIALS
FULLY RECOGNIZED THE URGENT NEED FOR GREATER COOPERATION ON IMMIGRATION
MATTERS TO SUPPORT ASEAN INITIATIVES INCLUDING EFFORTS TOWARDS CLOSER
ECONOMIC INTEGRATION, THE MOVE TO FACILITATE GREATER INTRA-ASEAN TOURISM
AND THE FIGHT AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL CRIME.

THEY AGREED TO MEET ON ANNUAL BASIS TO COORDINATE REGIONAL COOPERATION ON
IMMIGRATION MATTERS SO THEY COULD EFFECTIVELY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ACHIEVEMENT
OF ASEAN GOALS, WELCOMING AND SUPPORTING THE ASEAN VISION 2020 AND THE
HANOI PLAN OF ACTION ADOPTED BY THE ASEAN LEADERS.

THE ASEAN OFFICIALS ALSO AGREED TO ESTABLISH AN AD-HOC HIGH-LEVEL EXPERTS
GROUP ON IMMIGRATION MATTERS, AND THE GROUP WILL MEET IN 2000 IN THE
PHILIPPINES, THE STATEMENT SAID.

TO SUPPORT THE VISIT ASEAN MILLENNIUM YEAR 2002 CAMPAIGN TO BE IMPLEMENTED
BY THE ASEAN NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS, THE OFFICIALS AGREED TO
CONSIDER ESTABLISHING ASEAN LANES TO FACILITATE THE INCREASE IN TOURIST
ARRIVALS FROM MEMBER COUNTRIES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

THE JUST-ENDED ASEAN MEETING, WHICH BEGAN HERE MONDAY, WAS CHAIRED BY U
MAUNG HTAY, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF IMMIGRATION AND NATIONAL REGISTRATION
DEPARTMENT OF MYANMAR.

ASEAN GROUPS BRUNEI, CAMBODIA, INDONESIA, LAOS, MALAYSIA, MYANMAR, THE
PHILIPPINES, SINGAPORE, THAILAND AND VIETNAM.


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH