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Eighth ASEAN Summit to be held soon
AKP
Phnom Penh
October 30 - 2002 --
The eighth ASEAN Summit will be held soon, according to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and International cooperation.
Government leaders from 10 ASEAN
members (Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei,
the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos,
and Vietnam); and from
China, Japan, Republic
of Korea, and India will attend the Summit.
President
of the Republic of South Africa Thabo M Mbeki, as a new partnership
for Africa's development (NEPAD), will also join the Summit.
The
eighth ASEAN Summit will be hosted by Cambodia after the Seventh ASEAN
Summit in Brunei
in 2001.
Since it
was formed in 1967, ASEAN has held 11 summits. The host countries rotate in
alphabetical order.
Indonesia
hosted the first ASEAN Summit in Bali in
1976 and Malaysia
hosted the Second ASEAN Summit in Kuala
Lumpur the following year. Ten years later, the Philippines
hosted the Third ASEAN Summit in Manila.
Leaders agreed to meet every three to five years in the hope that regular
consultations would forge closer relations among members and promote peace,
stability and prosperity in the region. Singapore hosted the Fourth ASEAN
Summit in 1992 at which point leaders agreed to meet every three years and
informally in between.
At the
Fifth ASEAN Summit in Bangkok
in 1995, leaders agreed to the concept of informal summits to discuss issues
of common concern without a structured agenda. Indonesia
hosted the First Informal Summit the following year and Malaysia
hosted the second in 1997, coinciding with a commemorative summit for ASEAN' s 30th anniversary. Under the three-year
cycle for formal meetings, Vietnam
hosted the Sixth ASEAN Summit in 1998 with the Philippines hosting the Third
Informal Summit in 1999. At the Fourth Informal Summit in Singapore in
2000, leaders agreed to remove the distinction between formal and informal
summits to focus on working summits with less ceremony.
ASEAN Summit
and its History
Since
1967, ten ASEAN Summits have been held in ASEAN member countries on a
rotational basis in alphabetical order as follows;
I.
1st ASEAN Formal summit, Bali, Indonesia,
on 23-24 February 1976
II.
2nd ASEAN Formal Summit,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 405 August 1977
III.
3rd ASEAN Formal Summit,
Manila, the Philippines
on 14-25 December 1987
IV.
4th ASEAN Formal Summit,
Singapore on 28 January 1992
V.
5th ASEAN Formal Summit,
Thailand
on 14-15 December 1995
VI.
1st ASEAN Informal Summit, Jakarta, Indonesia
on 30 November 1996
VII.
2nd ASEAN Informal Summit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14-16 December 1997
VIII.
6th ASEAN Formal Summit, Ha Noi, Vietnam
on 15-16 November 1998
IX.
3rd ASEAN informal Summit,
Manila, the Philippines
on 27-28 November 1999
X.
4th ASSEAN informal Summit,
Singapore on 24 November 2000
XI.
7th ASEAN Formal Summit, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam in 2001.
ASEAN
AND CAMBODIA
Cambodia was actively engaged in
regional cooperation well before ASEAN was founded in 1967. Four years after
gaining independence, Cambodia joined the Laos People's Democratic Republic,
Thailand and Viet Nam in forming the Committee for Coordination of
Investigations of the Lower Mekong Basin in 1957 under a statute endorsed by
the United Nations Economic Commission for the Far East, later known as the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP). (The Mekong Committee became known as the Interim Committee in 1978
and Under a subsequent agreement signed in 1995, the four countries set up
the Mekong River Commission with a secretariat of more than 100 support staff
in Phnom Penh).
Cambodia also played an important
role as one of the founding members of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in
1966. At the Second Ministerial Conference on Asian Economic Cooperation in Manila in 1965, Phnom Penh emerged as
one of the five Southeast Asian capitals offering to host the headquarters of
the new regional financial institution proposed by Japan. Although Phnom Penh and other candidates lost out to
Manila as the
bank's permanent home, Cambodia
helped ensure that the ADB's initial capital target of one billion dollars
was met. When two designated members failed to meet their commitments, Cambodia and
three other countries voluntarily increased their subscriptions to cover the
eight-million-dollar shortfall, paving the way for the ADB agreement coming
into force.
It was during these early years
of Cambodia's
independence that Phnom Penh
successfully hosted two important regional events - the Sixth World Buddhist
Congress in 1961 and the Games of the New Emerging Forces (Ganefo) for Asian
countries in 1966. Indonesia,
which devised the term to describe progressive developing countries at the
time, had hosted the inaugural Ganefo in Jakarta in 1963.
Cambodia's role in regional and
international affairs in this period did not, however, extend to security
issues. With the Cold War escalating in 1954, Cambodia declared a policy of
neutrality which became the cornerstone of foreign policy for 16 years as it
sought to avoid being engulfed in the war in Viet Nam while maximising
assistance from the major powers. As a newly-independent neutral nation, Cambodia
participated actively in the historic "Bandung Conference" of 29
Asian and African nations hosted by Indonesia in 1955, which led to
the Non-Aligned Movement being founded in Belgrade in 1961. Between these two
milestones in the early post-colonial era, Cambodia adhered to its
neutrality by declining protection under a collective regional defence treaty
concluded in Manila
in 1953. The alliance, institutionalised as the Southeast Asia Treaty
Organisation (Seato) in 1954, was part of America's global policy of
"containing" communism. With the United States and other Seato members
deepening their military involvement in Viet Nam by the time ASEAN was
being formed in 1967, Cambodia
opted to forego membership and not risk compromising its status as an
"island of peace" that neutrality had so far guaranteed.
Cambodia's neutral foreign policy
was abandoned following a coup backed by the United States in 1970. Although
it did not seek ASEAN membership, the new Khmer Republic
sent delegations to ministerial meetings in 1971, 1973 and 1974. It also
joined several regional organisations (the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians
Union and the Regional Institute for Higher Education and Development in
1970; the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation, the Conference
of Asian and Pacific Labour Ministers and the Regional Organisation for
Inter-Governmental Cooperation and Coordination in Family and Population
Planning in Southeast Asia in 1971; the Southeast Asian Agency for Regional
Transport and Communications Development and the Southeast Asian Promotion
Centre for Trade, Investment and Tourism in 1972; and the Afro-Asian Rural
Reconstruction Organisation in 1975). But ASEAN membership was not a priority
for the new regime which was more preoccupied with the spillover of the war
in Viet Nam
and American bombing of eastern Cambodia as well as its own
internal difficulties with riots and a widening civil war with the Khmers
Rouges. Indeed, at their seventh annual meeting in 1974, ASEAN foreign
ministers expressed concern over "the grave situations still prevailing
in the Khmer Republic."
With the Khmers Rouges capturing Phnom Penh in 1975, the
new Democratic Kampuchea regime adopted an isolationist foreign policy and
shut down most remaining missions in the capital. Responsible for the deaths
of more than three million out of seven million Cambodians, it belatedly
tried to gain wider diplomatic support after severing relations with Viet Nam in
1978. Within ASEAN itself, reactions to the communist victories in Indochina diverged. But while Viet Nam
extended diplomatic relations to ASEAN countries, the xenophobic Khmer Rouge
regime did little to secure support from the rest of Southeast
Asia or improve its regional standing.
Cambodia's isolation from ASEAN
continued after the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime was ousted in 1979. A proxy
Cold War stalemate ensued with Viet Nam, the Soviet
Union and their allies supporting the new People's Republic of Kampuchea
(PRK) in Phnom Penh
and China,
the United States
and ASEAN backing a coalition on the Thai-Cambodia border comprising the
Khmers Rouges and two other resistance groups. ASEAN nevertheless played a
pivotal role in helping to reach a comprehensive political settlement. As
interlocutor for ASEAN, Indonesia
hosted the Jakarta Informal Meetings of various factions and also co-chaired
the Paris Peace Conferences in 1989 and 1991 which led to international
peacekeeping operations and elections supervised by the United Nations in
1993. During this transitional period, ASEAN countries established diplomatic
ties with Cambodia
and committed troops to the peacekeeping operation. Most established
diplomatic missions in Phnom Penh
and Cambodia
set up missions in Jakarta
and Bangkok
in the early part of the 1990s. It was also during this transitional period
that Cambodia renewed its
links to the Asian Development Bank after delegates from three factions
jointly attending the ADB's annual meeting in Hong Kong in 1991; two years
after the government in Phnom Penh
launched major economic reforms.
Following the election of a new
government in 1993, Cambodia's
foreign minister was invited to the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Singapore as
a special guest. During informal discussions, Singapore broached the subject of
Cambodia's
"eventual integration into the Southeast Asian community" but it
wasn't until a similar informal meeting in Bangkok in mid-1994 that Cambodia
clearly expressed a desire to seek ASEAN membership. In response to an
invitation, the ASEAN secretary general led an official visit to Cambodia at
the end of the year. In early 1995, the government acceded to the Treaty of
Amity and Cooperation of Southeast Asia. Also known as the Bali Treaty, it
was ratified by the Cambodian National Assembly in June. At the annual
ministerial meeting in Bandar Seri
Begawan the following month, Cambodia was
welcomed as an official ASEAN observer and a full member of the ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF), a new body for regional security dialogue established
the previous year. By the end of the year, Cambodia was invited to the Fifth
ASEAN Summit in Bangkok
where ASEAN leaders met for the first time with fellow leaders from the
prospective new members of Cambodia,
Laos
and Myanmar.
In early 1996, Cambodia
officially applied to join ASEAN after hosting a meeting of directors-general
from ASEAN countries in Phnom Penh.
The government accelerated its preparations for membership through
newly-created departments in several ministries and took part in various
training programs, study tours and seminars for government officials. In
addition to the annual gathering in Jakarta
in 1996, Cambodia
attended the First Ministerial Meeting on ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development
Cooperation in Kuala Lumpur
and the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in Jakarta that year. It also took part in the
ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting in Chiang Mai in early 1997. But plans for Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to
join ASEAN simultaneously at the annual meeting of foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur that year
were scuttled by ASEAN's reaction to political instability in Phnom Penh. With
membership postponed, Cambodia
remained an observer at the annual meetings in Kuala Lumpur in 1997 and Manila in 1998 while participating as a
full member of the ASEAN Regional Forum. Following the election of a new
coalition government in 1998, Cambodia
attended the Sixth ASEAN Summit in Hanoi
in December. The summit decided to admit Cambodia and a special admission
ceremony was held by ASEAN foreign ministers in Hanoi on April 30 the following year. With
the signing of the Declaration on the Admission of the Kingdom of Cambodia
into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Protocol for the
Accession of Cambodia to the ASEAN Agreements, Cambodia became the tenth member
of the regional association. The 32-year-old vision of ASEAN's founding
fathers to unite all the nations of Southeast Asia
under one roof had finally been realised.
Under the protocol signed in Hanoi, Cambodia
acceded to 27 ASEAN agreements. Specific conditions were attached to four of
those agreements which covered food security, tariffs, services and
investment. Under the Agreement on the Common Effective Tariff Scheme (CEPT)
for the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) originally signed in Singapore in 1992,
Cambodia was given by 2009 to reduce tariffs to between zero and five percent
on goods in the "inclusion list" (two years more than Laos and
Myanmar, four years more than Viet Nam and seven years more than the original
six members of the scheme). The deadline for similar tariff cuts on sensitive
agricultural products is by the end of 2017. Under the ASEAN Framework Agreement
on Services originally signed in Bangkok
in 1995, Cambodia
was given exceptions from according the most favourable treatment to other
ASEAN members until 2005 provided that measures favouring certain countries
were already in place. Under the Framework Agreement on the ASEAN Investment
Area, Cambodia
was given five years to phase out inconsistent measures relating to the
opening up of industries and national treatment of ASEAN investors. Cambodia also
committed itself to phasing out all items on the "temporary exclusion
list" no later than 2010 for ASEAN investors, the same commitment given
by Laos
and Viet Nam
in a statement made by ASEAN leaders in Hanoi
1998. In addition, Cambodia
has to extend special privileges to qualified investors in the manufacturing
sector in accordance with the Hanoi
statement's short-term measures to improve ASEAN's investment climate.
Since
becoming a full member, Cambodia has raised its regional diplomatic profile
as an active participant in ASEAN summits and annual ministerial meetings,
including the post-ministerial conferences held every year with the
association's "dialogue partners" which now include Australia,
Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia
and the United States as well as the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP). Cambodia
has also played an important role as ASEAN's "country coordinator"
for Canada
which established an office of the Canadian International Development Agency
in Phnom Penh 2000. In addition, Cambodia has been fully
integrated in the ASEAN + 3 process with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea
(ROK) since taking part in its first ASEAN+ 3 summit in Manila in 1999. At the Seventh ASEAN Summit
in Bandar Seri Begawan in 2001, leaders
welcomed Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen's offer to convene a summit of the
Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) to coincide with the Eighth ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in 2002. The
historic summit on November 3 will bring together for the first time leaders
of all six countries through which the Mekong River
flows (Cambodia,
China,
the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) as
well as the president of the Asian Development Bank, which initiated a
development program for the sub-region in 1992. In addition to chairing the
regular ASEAN summit, ASEAN + 3 summit and separate meetings with the leaders
of China, Korea and Japan, Samdech Hun Sen is also scheduled to chair the
first ASEAN-Indian summit on November 5 as well as a briefing for ASEAN
leaders on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) by the South African
President.
THE ASEAN + 3 PROCESS
Recognising
the importance of similar links with Northeast Asia,
the leaders of China,
Japan
and the Republic
of Korea were invited
to ASEAN's Second Informal Summit in Kuala
Lumpur in 1997. The first "ASEAN + 3"
summit was followed by separate "ASEAN + 1" summits with the three
leaders.
At the Third Informal Summit in
Manila in
1999, the ASEAN + 3 leaders issued a Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation.
The statement reflected a commitment to strengthen cooperation and
collaboration in East Asia in priority areas
of shared interest and concern, especially in economic, monetary and
financial areas, social and human resources development, science and
technology, culture and information and development cooperation.
At their first meeting in Bangkok in 2000, the
ASEAN + 3 foreign ministers adopted a Modality for the Implementation of
the Joint Statement to ensure cooperation and coherence while allowing
for flexibility in moving the process forward. The foreign ministers also
agreed to meet every year to strengthen cooperation within the framework.
ASEAN + 3 cooperation has been most prominent in the areas of finance and
economics. Under an initiative adopted at a meeting of finance ministers in
Chiang Mai in 2000, the ASEAN + 3 countries have made significant progress in
concluding bilateral swap arrangements. By October this year, ten
arrangements worth 26.5 billion dollars had been concluded and another four
were being negotiated. At the same time, seven countries had agreed to
exchange data on short-term capital flows. Policy dialogue has also been
enhanced, with finance ministry and central bank deputies holding their first
meeting in Myanmar
in April this year.
In the broader area of economic and
trade cooperation, the ASEAN + 3 countries have initiated eight projects in
areas ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises to satellite imaging.
At their most recent meeting in Bandar
Seri Begawan in September, economic ministers
approved another four projects including an initiative to promote the
entertainment industry within ASEAN and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Cooperation has also extended to tourism with an inaugural meeting of ASEAN +
3 tourism ministers in Yogyakarta in January
this year. The ministers agreed to cooperate to facilitate travel, promote
tourism and enhance the private sector while developing human resources,
research and information technology and promoting investment. ASEAN officials
in areas such as science and technology, and labour have expressed interest
in having their own ASEAN + 3 processes.
East Asia Vision
At the ASEAN + 3 Summit in Hanoi in 1998, Republic of Korea
President Kim Dae-Jung proposed an East Asia Vision Group to discuss
long-term cooperation in the region. Chaired by former foreign minister Dr.
Han Sung Joo, the group was inaugurated in Seoul in 1999 with each of the ASEAN + 3
countries represented by two academics. Following subsequent meetings in Shanghai, Tokyo, Bali and Seoul,
the group submitted a report to last year's ASEAN + 3 summit in Bandar Seri Begawan.
The report, Towards an East Asian Community, contains key proposals and
concrete measures including the establishment of an East Asia Free Trade Area
liberalizing trade well ahead of APEC's goals. An East Asia study group - set
up to assess the recommendations made by the EAVG and explore the idea of an
East Asian summit - is scheduled to deliver its final report to the ASEAN + 3
leaders at this year's summit in Phnom Penh. Assisted by a working group, the
14-member study group comprises senior officials from each of the 13
countries along with a representative of the ASEAN Secretariat.
Initiative
for Development in East Asia
In January this year, Japan's Prime
Minister Koizumi visited several ASEAN countries and proposed an Initiative
for Development in East Asia. ASEAN
ministers responsible for foreign affairs and development discussed the
initiative with their counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea
in Tokyo in
August. In a joint statement, ministers identified infrastructure as one of
three major prerequisites for sustainable growth along with human resource
development and institutional capacity building in both the
public and private sectors as well as trade and investment. Among development
challenges facing East Asia, ministers noted
the need to build strong foundations to sustain growth and to pay more
attention to low-income and vulnerable regions, especially in reducing
poverty and income disparities. In addressing poverty, ministers agreed to
take an equitable approach that was both market and growth oriented.
To enhance development, the statement
highlighted the need for further efforts by developed countries in the areas
of official development assistance, foreign direct investment and market
access. Ministers acknowledged the significance of maintaining adequate
assistance and stressed that investment in the less developed countries was
crucial for regional development and prosperity. Among other priorities,
ministers emphasised such areas as regional integration and the Greater
Mekong Sub-region, and the need for concrete projects to realise the goals of
ASEAN + 3 cooperation.
ASEAN TOURISM
COOPERATION
Tourism cooperation was formalised in
1976 when the ASEAN Committee on Trade and Tourism set up a sub-committee to
deal exclusively with the sector. Initiating promotions, marketing and
research, its achievements included the annual ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF)
starting in 1981, the decision to set up an ASEAN Information Tourism Centre
in Kuala Lumpur
seven years later and the Visit ASEAN Year in 1992.
The
Fifth ASEAN Summit in Bangkok
in 1995 set the direction to focus on promoting sustainable tourism
development, preserving cultural and environmental resources, providing
transport and other infrastructure, simplifying immigration and developing
human resources. Recognising that ASEAN tourism receipts were equivalent to
almost 10 percent of exports and five percent of regional economic activity,
ASEAN National Tourism Organisations agreed to formulate an action plan for
the industry at their sixth meeting in Singapore in 1997. The action
plan identified five strategies - marketing ASEAN as a single destination,
encouraging more competitive investment, developing a critical pool of
industry manpower, promoting environmentally-sustainable tourism and
facilitating seamless intra-ASEAN travel.
At their inaugural meeting in Cebu in 1998, tourism ministers endorsed the Plan of
Action for ASEAN Cooperation in Tourism. They also signed a ministerial
understanding outlining areas of cooperation and decided to meet every year
following the annual meetings of ASEAN National Tourism Organisations held in
conjunction with the ATF.
At their second meeting in Singapore in
1999, ministers agreed on a new Visit ASEAN campaign with ASEAN National
Tourism Organisations working in closer partnership with the private sector.
To carry out the Hanoi Plan of Action adopted by ASEAN leaders in 1998, the
ministers endorsed the Philippines
as the new campaign coordinator with Brunei Darussalam named marketing
coordinator and Indonesia
training coordinator. Malaysia
was endorsed as eco-tourism coordinator and Singapore as the coordinator of a
cruise development study.
In their joint statement, the
ministers called for faster liberalisation for tourism services and agreed to
pursue the liberalisation of air services to promote travel within ASEAN. To
encourage investment, ministers proposed incentives ranging from granting tax
exemptions for new projects and duty-free status for imported capital goods
to maximising both equity participation and periods of land use for foreign
investors. Other incentives included easing access to domestic markets,
accelerating free flows of skilled tourism professionals and simplifying or
deregulating the issue of investment and trading licenses.
At the Third Meeting of ASEAN Tourism
Ministers in Bangkok
in 2000, it was decided that the Visit ASEAN campaign would be launched in
Brunei Darussalam the following year with the aim of building a strong
branding of the region as a single destination over a sustained period beyond
2002.
Ministers also set up a special task force with Thailand as
coordinator to step up negotiations on liberalising trade in tourism
services, with the aim of formulating an ASEAN package of commitments with
preferential incentives and facilitation support measures. They agreed to
exchange information on negative activities that could damage ASEAN's image
as a single destination such as child prostitution, pedophilia, human
smuggling and drug trafficking. Ministers also agreed that encouraging
investment, removing barriers and carrying out complementary marketing were
important areas of cooperation.
At the Fourth Meeting of Tourism
Ministers in Bandar Seri Begawan
in 2001, it was agreed that promotions for the Visit ASEAN Campaign would
target the travel trade during the first phase in 2001 and consumers in the
second phase in 2002. The campaign was launched by His Majesty Sultan Haji
Hassanal Bolkiah at the ATF opening ceremony which coincided with the
ministerial meeting on January 13.
During the meeting, ministers directed
ASEAN National Tourism Organisations to emphasise promoting intra-ASEAN
travel and to coordinate with regional bodies dealing with immigration and
consular affairs. In the area of liberalisation, ministers noted that certain
hotel, food and beverage services had been identified as three common
sub-sectors for the second round of negotiations under the ASEAN Framework
Agreement on Services. Ministers also endorsed a proposal for Cambodia to
host the ATF in Phnom Penh
in 2003.
The initiative for an ASEAN Tourism
Agreement was raised by Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, during
the Seventh ASEAN Summit in Bandar Seri Begawan in November last year. At
their fifth meeting in Yogyakarta earlier
this year, ministers endorsed the ASEAN Tourism Agreement as a
"reaffirmation at the highest political levels of the importance of the
travel and tourism sector for ASEAN economic integration and in the greater
mutual understanding and solidarity amongst the peoples of ASEAN." They
also welcomed an offer by Cambodia's
Senior Minister and Minister of Tourism Veng Sereyvuth to lead a high-level
task force to formulate the agreement for signing at the Eighth ASEAN Summit
in Phnom Penh
in November.
The agreement is expected to cover
travel facilitation, transport, market access, quality tourism, safety and
security, joint marketing and promotion and human resource development.
Ministers also agreed that the
second-phase of the Visit ASEAN Campaign targetting the consumer market would
focus on intra-ASEAN travel in addition to existing major markets in the
Asia-Pacific region. To make intra-ASEAN travel easier, the ministers urged
member countries to abolish all fiscal or non-fiscal travel barriers.
In negotiations under the Framework
Agreement on Services, ministers requested that ASEAN National Tourism
Organisations take an active part in the third round of negotiations starting
this year for the fourth package of commitments in the sector. Ministers also
requested that the ASEAN secretariat finalise its study on the impact of the
September 11 tragedy on regional tourism, taking into account completed
questionnaires from all member countries. The Lao People's Democratic
Republic meanwhile confirmed that it would host the ATF in 2004.
Under
the ASEAN + 3 process, the ministers held an
inaugural meeting with their counterparts from China,
Japan and the Republic of Korea
in Yogyakarta. The meeting agreed on the
urgent need for increased tourism in view of the global economic downturn and
the drop in travel since September 11. They instructed senior officials and
experts to work out a mechanism for the prompt exchange of information to
enhance the safety and security of travellers. Ministers also instructed
officials to work out short and long-term cooperative programs to abolish
travel barriers, promote tourism between Southeast Asia
and the three Northeast Asian countries, enhance private-sector cooperation
and promote investment. In addition, the ministers encouraged joint programs
in the areas of human resources, research and information
technology.--AKP
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Terror Takes central Role for Summit
AKP Phnom Penh October 30 - 2002
–
It is necessary to take measures against terrorism as some ASEAN countries are
confronted with it, the Cambodia Daily quoted
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong as saying on TVK Monday Night.
Making
reference to the recent bombing on the recent bombing on the Indonesian
tourist of Bali which killed nearly 200, Hor Namhong said on TVK that
fighting terrorism will take a prominent place in the Asean summit discussion
which are scheduled to take place on Monday and
Tuesday in Phnom Penh.
-- AKP
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ROK Prime Minister to
attend the 8th ASEAN Summit in Cambodia
AKP Phnom Penh October 30 - 2002
–
Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Kim Suk Soo will arrive in Cambodia soon to attend the
eight ASEAN Summit to be held in Phnom
Penh, according to a news release of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
During
his stay in Cambodia,
the Korean prime-minister will be received in a Royal Audience by their
Majesties King. Norodom Sihanouk and Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk.
He will
also pay courtesy calls on Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly
President Norodom Ranariddh. Kim Suk Soo will hold official talks with Prime
Minister Hun Sen, followed by the signing ceremony of the Trade Agreement and
a Loan Arrangement for the Kampot – Trapang Ropeov Road Rehabilitation
Project. -- AKP
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Cambodia will host the 8th
ASEAN Summit on 4-5 November, 2002.
AKP Phnom Penh
October 31 – 2002 --
Here is
the following of the features of 10 ASEAN-member countries.
Cambodia
Capital : Phnom Penh
Land area : 181,035 sq km
Population : 12,491,501 ( 2001 )
Language : Khmer
Religion : Buddhism
Climat : The climate of Cambodia is
tropical monsoon, typically hot and humid.
The average annual temperature is 27 C with a maximum of 35 C and
a minimum of 19 C. The rainy season starts
from June to October, the
cool season is from November to February and the dry season is from
March to May
Government type
: Constitutional
Monarchy
Member
of : ASEAN, CTBTO, EACAP, FAO, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, ITU, LDC,
UNO, UNCTAC, UNESCO, UPO, UNIDO, WIPO,WHO
Currency : Riel
GDP : Riel 12,406.5 ( 2000 ) at current
market prices
Major
Industries : Textile and Garments, Beverages,
Food Processing, wood Processing, rice milling,
rubber, cement, gem mining.
Natural
resources : Timber, gemstone, some iron ore,
maganese, Phosphates, hydropower
potential
Major Exports : Garment
textile Product Sawn, wood Furniture, Rubber, fish, rice
Major
Import : Transport equipment and
machinery, manufactured goods, food Chemicals.
-----------------------------------------
Brunei Darussalam
Capital : Bandar Seri Begawan
Land area : 5,765 sq. Km.
Population : 343,653 ( 2001 )
Language : Malay
Religion : Moslem
Government type
: Constitutional
Monarchy
Member
of : ASEAN, APEC,APT, APDC,
Commonwealth, ESCAP, GP77, GATT / WTO, ICAO, IMO, IMF, WMO, UNDP,
WHO, WIPO,
WTO-GBT, ASEM, EALAF
Currency : B$ ( Bruneian Dollar )
GDP : B$ 8,0 ( 2000 ) at current market
prices
Major Industries : Oil and gas, textiles, Food and
beverages, building materials
Natural resources
: Petroleum, natural
gas, timber
Major Exports : Oil
and gas, ready-made garments
Major
Imports : Transport equipment and machinery,
manufactured goods, food Chemicals.
-----------------------------------------------
Indonesia
Capital : Jakarta
Land area : 1,919,440 sq Km
Population : 228,437,870 ( 2001 )
Language : Bahasa Insonesia
Religion : Moslem, Christian, Catholic,
Buddhism, Hinduism
Government type
: Republic
Member of : ASEAN, UN, IMF,ESCAP,FAO, ILO,
UNESSCO, IBRD, IFC,
MIGA, IDB, IDA, ADB, WTO, APED, ASEM, EALAF
Currency : Rupiah
GDP : Rp. 1,332.2 billion ( 2000 ) at current market prices.
Major Industries : Pulp and paper, cement, basic
metals, and fertilizer, power
generation,
telecommunication, transportation, petroleum and natural gas,
textiles,
apparel, footwear, mining, food, chemical ferlizers, plywood,
rubber,
tourism
Natural resources
: Petroleum, tin,
natural gas, gold, silver, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper,
fertile soils, coal
Major Exports : Tixtile,
electronic goods, footwear, Oil and gas, plywood, sawn timber
Major Imports : Chemical
and pharmaceutical, fertilizer, cotton Yarns, textile fabric,
machines, motor vehicles.
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LAO PDR
Capital : Vientiane
Land area : 236.800 sq Km.
Population : 5,635,967 ( 2001 )
Language : Lao
Religion : Buddhism
Government type
: People's Democratic
republic
Member of : ASEAN, ADB, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, WHO, IDA,
WIPO, IFC, ILO,
IMF, UN, NCTAD, UNESCO,UNIDO, UNICEF, WHO, EALAF
Currency : Kip
GDP : Kip 13,482 billion ( 2000 ) at
current market prices
Major Industries : Garment industry, wood-based and
processing industries, electricity,
tin and gypsum mining, timber agricultural processing,
construction
Natural resources
: Timber, hydropower,
gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Major Exports : Coffee,
electricity, clothing, Wood and forest product and Gypsum.
Major Imports :
Industrial machinery, chemicals, iron, electrical, machinery and parts,
steel, oil, construction material and
consumption goods.
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Malaysia
Capital : Kuala Lumpur
Land area : 329,758 sq Km
Population : 22,229,040 ( 2001 )
Language : Melayu, English, Chinese, Tamil
Religion : Moslem, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism,
Christians
Government type
: Constitutional
Monarchy
Member of : ASEAN, ADB, APEC, ASEM,D-8, EBRD,
ECOSOP , ESCAP,
FAO, G-15, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, ILO, EALAP
Currency : Malaysian Riggit
GDP : Rm. 339.4 billion ( 2000 ) at current market prices.
Major Industries : Electronic and electrical goods,
textiles, clothing and footwear,
Chemicals, petroleum, wood and metal products and rubber
Natural resources
: Tin, petroleum,
timber, cooper, iron one, natural gas, bauxite
Major Exports : Electronic
and electric machinery, petroleum and LNG, Textiles,
Clothing and footwear, palm oil, Sawn timber
Major Imports : Manufacturing
inputs, machinery and transport
equipment, metal
product.
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MYANMAR
Capital : Yangon
Land area : 676,575 sq.km.
Population : 41,994,678 (2001)
Language : Myanmar
Religion : Buddhism, Christians, Moslem
Government type
: State Peace
Development Council.
Member of : ASEAN, ADB, ESCAP, ACU, FAO, IBRD, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, ITU, WTO,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNICEF, EALAF.
Currency : Myanmar Kyat
GDP : K 2,408.4 billion (2000) at current
market prices.
Major Industries : Agro-based industries, textiles
industries, steel mills footwear wood
and wood products, cooper, tin,
tungsten, iron construction material,
pharmacenticals,
fertilizer
Natural resources : Petroleum,
timber, tin, antimony, zine, copper, tungsten, lead, coal,
some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
Major Exports
: Rice, teak, beans and pulses,
rubber, coffee, minerals, gems marine
products
Major Imports
: Power tillers, hand tractor, fertilizer, diesel oil,
cement,
dumper, Loader
and spare parts, water
pumps, hydraulic excavator.
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Philippines
Capital : Manila
Land area : 300,000 sq. km.
Population : 82,841 518 (2001)
Language : Filipino, English, Spanish
Religion : Buddhism, Christians, Moslem
Government type : Democracy.
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