LEAD: Japan to set up fund for narrowing gaps in ASEAN

Asian Economic News, June 12, 2000

TOKYO, June 9 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH MORE INFORMATION)

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori promised Friday to set up in July a fund initially totaling $2.5 million to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) promote exchanges and cooperation to narrow economic disparities among its members, a Foreign Ministry official said Friday.

"We are working to establish the Japan-ASEAN General Exchange Fund," Mori was quoted as saying in a meeting with ASEAN leaders, who came to Japan to attend Thursday's funeral of former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.

Mori also explained Japan's recently unveiled plan to launch a comprehensive aid package for helping Asian and other developing nations deal with the information technology (IT) revolution, a theme that will be a key issue at the July 21-23 summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) major nations in Okinawa Prefecture, the official said.

The ASEAN side urged Japan to serve as its spokesman at the Okinawa summit, listing the establishment of a regional mechanism to deal with economic crises and four other issues it wants Japan to take up with its G-8 counterparts -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States, the official said.

Mori and the ASEAN leaders agreed to build on their "partnership for Asian peace and stability." The Japanese premier reiterated Japan's commitment to dispatching more volunteers to the region, helping develop the Mekong River basin, and promoting a trilateral framework in which Japan and an ASEAN country will work together to assist another ASEAN country, the official said.

All 10 ASEAN members were represented at the meeting, with the leaders of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand and cabinet ministers from Brunei, Singapore and Vietnam attending.

The official said Japan and ASEAN are expected to sign an agreement on the Japan-ASEAN General Exchange Fund when their foreign ministers gather in Bangkok in late July for the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Japan has already earmarked $2.5 million in its fiscal 2000 budget for the fund, which is aimed at helping ASEAN narrow the economic gap between the four latecomers -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam -- and the rest of the group, the official said.

Envisioned projects for the fund include building information networks and promoting English-language and other educational programs, the official said.

As for the G-8 summit, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai identified five issues that ASEAN would like taken up, the official said. Thailand is the current chair of ASEAN.

The five issues are further promoting reforms of the international financial architecture, seeking an Asian regional mechanism to tackle economic crises, a message of confidence about the strength and potential of recovering Asian economies, further opening of markets in advanced nations, and addressing interests of developing nations to ensure a balanced new round of multilateral trade negotiations can start under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Mori acknowledged the need for reforming the global financial architecture, discussion of the proposed Asian Monetary Fund, and efforts to seek social safety nets to help the poor and vulnerable amid globalization, the official said.

He promised to convey Japan's "confidence over Asia's potential for strong growth with its recovering economies."

Mori also said he would ask the G-8 summit to issue a "strong message" over the new WTO round while addressing the interests of developing nations and seeking a "comprehensive" negotiation approach, the official said.

As for the IT aid package, Mori listed policy-making, human resources, information infrastructure, and official development assistance as the four major areas for IT-related projects, the official said.

Mori also explained that Japan intends to focus at the summit on poverty and infectious diseases that hamper development.