Excellency and Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to extend, also on behalf of my ASEAN colleagues, a warm welcome to you, Mr. Secretary, and to the distinguished members of your Delegation to this annual session of the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) between ASEAN and the United States of America.

We are gratified that the PMC has proven to be a highly useful forum of consultation and cooperation which enriches the already strong and dynamic ASEAN- US Dialogue relationship.

Southeast Asia today enjoys a stable political climate that is conducive to the social and economic development of the countries in the region. We are pleased to observe that the United States has played and will continue to play an important role in promoting the regional stability and security that ASEAN and the other Pacific Basin countries now enjoy and in the acceleration of social and economic development in the region as a whole.

We are optimistic that the Dialogue process and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) will continue to serve as vehicles for the development of confidence- building measures that will further enhance and consolidate the friendly ties between the United States and ASEAN and the other countries in the region.

In the economic field, it is reassuring that both the US Government and the Governments of the ASEAN countries have developed and can avail them selves of various mechanisms for discussing and resolving their problems. Through interaction between the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) on the one hand and the United States Trade Representative (USTR)on the other, as well as through the work of the Trade and lnvestment Cooperation Committee(TICC), the process of enhancing US-ASEAN economic relations through dialogue has been effectively promoted.

Apart from these, the ASEAN Washington Committee (AWC) and Economic Coordinating Committee (ECC) have also played an important role in supporting the existing consultative mechanism within the Dialogue framework.

I am glad to observe that the private sectors of the United States and the ASEAN countries have been able to take part actively in the economic discussions that are now an integral part of the Dialogue. The resulting rapport between the two private sectors has promoted the expansion of trade and investment cooperation between the US and ASEAN. The private sectors have stressed the need to promote interest among American businessmen in the ASEAN region. They have also encouraged ASEAN Governments to continue to lower tariffs and to remove non-tariff barriers.

ASEAN recognizes and appreciates the constructive role of the ASEAN-US Business Council (AUSBC) in, exploring ways to enhance ASEAN-US economic cooperation. ASEAN will continue to work closely with the AUSBC in disseminating information or, specific investment opportunities in the ASEAN region and to facilitate increased interaction, especially trade and joint ventures, between the private sectors of both sides. In this regard, we welcome the interest of the Council and its proposal to hold a seminar on AFTA in the United States. Considering the interest generated by recent seminars on Taiwan and Japan in the United States, I am sure that a seminar on AFTA would indeed be a useful instrument for attracting interest of American investors in the AFTA process.

We believe that close cooperation between the United States and ASEAN will help ensure the expeditious and full implementation of the Uruguay Round agreements which would lead to a free and open global trading environment. In this light, ASEAN is committed to the APEC Leaders' "Bogor Declaration of Common Resolve," and to the further strengthening of the multilateral trading system through the liberalization of trade and investment in the region in a manner consistent with the GATT/WTO. We look forward to working closely with the United States and the other APEC Member Economies at the APEC Ministerial and Leaders meetings in Osaka, Japan in November this year, in preparing an "Action Agenda" that would define the concrete steps to be taken in order to achieve the objectives laid down in the "Bogor Declaration".

With regard to NAFTA and AFTA, both sides have assured each other that their respective regional trading arrangements will remain open and outward- looking. With the inception of AFTA, ASEAN has become more open and internationally competitive which will ensure that investment opportunities will become more attractive for foreign investors, particularly from the United States.

For many years now development cooperation has been the mainstay of our Dialogue relationship. However, we note with dismay that the US contribution to such cooperation has decreased over the last few years. We are of the view that this form of cooperation should be given the same emphasis as that given to the other types of economic cooperation.

The PITO Project has proven to be highly beneficial to its participants, so when the project was completed in June 1995 ASEAN expressed the hope that funding for this project would continue. Since funding has not been continued, it would seem to be a practical recourse if, as the US and ASEAN private sectors have suggested, the infrastructure that was set up for the PITO Project could now be used for the proposed Alliance for Mutual Growth (AMG). In this context, ASEAN welcomes the US proposal on AMG which is aimed at developing a special programme for commercial cooperation between the US and ASEAN.

With the PITO Project brought to a close, the EIP Project is now the only development cooperation component of AS EAN's external relations programme with the United States. Under the work programme of the EIP, a number of activities have already commenced. In this regard, ASEAN welcomes the US intention to place the EIP under the US-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP) Programme. We look forward to the US-AEP facilitating the transfer of appropriate and environmentally sound technologies to the region, thereby greatly benefitting the ASEAN countries.

With regard to cultural and social cooperation, ASEAN awaits the response of the United States to the idea of launching a people-to-people cultural exchange programme which we believe can build greater awareness and understanding between the two sides. In this context, it may be desirable to explore an alternative form of cooperation such as the USIA's Fulbright Programme which has proved to be an excellent way of increasing cultural exchanges.

I believe that the progress made at the last two dialogue meetings has given the ASEAN-US dialogue relationship greater significance as a vehicle for promoting economic as well as political cooperation in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region in general. However, I should like to underscore the importance of a balanced overall agenda within the Dialogue relationship by ensuring that political, economic, social, cultural, and development cooperation are all given equal consideration.

I hope that from these discussions, the United States and ASEAN will derive a greater understanding of each other's' views on a wide range of complex concerns and issues, thus making this dialogue more mutually beneficial and fruitful. I also hope that our discussions in this forum will serve to prepare us for the 13th ASEAN-US Dialogue Meeting which will be held in Bali next year.


Your Excellency,

I am confident that our cooperation will prosper and continue to bring progress and development for the benefit of the peoples of the United States and the ASEAN countries.

Thank you.