The Honourable Andre Ouellet
Minister of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade of Canada,

Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of my ASEAN colleagues, let me first of all, extend to you Mr. Minister and to the members of your delegation, a very warm welcome to this annual session of the Post Ministerial Conference.

ASEAN values its friendship with Canada which has shown strong and positive support for the PMC process and the security dialogue in the Asia-Pacific through the newly established ASEAN Regional Forum. They serve as useful forums for promoting deeper understanding and co-operation between ASEAN and its dialogue partners.

I am delighted to note that the ASEAN-Canada relations have been consolidated further since our last meeting in Bangkok in July 1994. In this regard, I would particularly like to recall the consultations we had in Vancouver last May on G.7 issues of concern to ASEAN and the developing countries. We are pleased that ASEAN view points and concerns on a number, f issues that were deliberated were brought to the attention of the Halifax Summiteers. On behalf of ASEAN, I would like to express our profound gratitude to the Government of Canada, in particular to the ~Hon. Prime Minister Jean Chretien and to your good self, Mr. Minister, for Canada's initiative and positive efforts undertaken.

The Halifax Summit issued a Joint Communique and a Chairman's Statement encompassing a number of economic and political issues of interest to the international community. ASEAN is hopeful that this would be translated into concrete actions. ASEAN holds the belief that much of the political crises besetting countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa today can be resolved if the major, powers have the political resolve and commitment to fulfil their international obligations.

On the international economic plane, the successful completion of the Uruguay Round and the establishment thereafter of the WTO are significant developments for realizing a liberalized multilateral trading system. ASEAN is fully committed to an open global trading system as evidenced by its own efforts to create an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). Further, the fact that the first Ministerial Conference of the WTO is to be hosted by Singapore, a member of ASEAN, is a clear testimony of ASEAN's commitment to the principles of free trade.

ASEAN stands ready to work closely with Canada and the international community to ensure the success of WTO. At the same time, however, it is opposed to any move by the developed countries to link trade and development aid to labor standards, human rights and the environment. ASEAN perceives these conditionalities as disguised protectionism motivated by the developed countries' desire to reduce the competitive edge of developing countries.

Please be assured, Mr. Minister, that ASEAN is committed to the principles of free trade. A significant stop forward in this direction was made when ASEAN decided to shorten the actualisation period of AFTA to ten years from the original schedule of 15 years. Yet another affirmative move made recently was to add agricultural products to its already long list of tariff cuts. This will be followed hopefully by liberalisation of trade in other areas such as in the services sector.

AFTA will serve as a catalyst for increasing intra- ASEAN trade, promoting healthy competition among ASEAN industries, and eventually, the complementarity of industries and quality control. The implementation of AFTA does not benefit ASEAN alone. There are ample opportunities for ASEAN and foreign business interests to work together for mutual benefit. Towards this end, I would like to call on Canadian business leaders to explore possibilities to take advantage of AFTA. The ASEAN-Canada Business Council (ACBC) in particular must take a leading role to spur economic inter-change through increased trade and investment.

Excellencies and Distinguished Delegates,

The ASEAN-Canada Economic Cooperation Agreement was renewed on 1 st April 1994 to serve as a foundation to broaden the base of the ASEAN- Canada cooperation. Under the current phase, some projects are already ongoing, while a few others are still under consideration. ASEAN is hopeful that more projects would be identified for inclusion into the cooperation programme, especially in the area of science and technology, trade, investment and the environment.

A new area in which we are seeking Canadian assistance is in combating atmospheric pollution and forest fires in the ASEAN region. We have noted the active participation of Canadian officials at the recent ASEAN Meeting on Transboundary Pollution in Kuala Lumpur, where the ASEAN Plan of Cooperation on Transboundary Pollution was adopted by the ASEAN Environment Ministers. We hope some of the projects identified under the Plan of Cooperation could be included under the ASEAN-Canada Development Cooperation Programme.

As for the ongoing projects under the Development Cooperation, Programme, ASEAN is satisfied with their progress. These include ASEAN- Canada Cooperative Programme on Marine Science, Fisheries Post Harvest Technology Project and ASEAN Institute of Forest Management which are all currently in their Phase 11. These projects have benefits ASEAN through the acquisition of knowledge, skills and technology. It is therefore with much delight that I record ASEAN's appreciation to the Government of Canada, in particular to CIDA, for the financial and technical assistance provided to ASEAN under the ASEAN-Canada Development Cooperative Programme. We look forward to Canada's continued contribution to this valuable co-operative relationship.

The ASEAN-Canada Joint Cooperation Committee(JCC) which met in Ottawa last year decided to establish a monitoring mechanism, i.e. the Joint Project-Monitoring Committee (JPMC) to plan monitor and evaluate the progress of all the projects under the ASEAN-Canada Development Programme. I am glad to announce here that Malaysia is planning to host the first meeting f the JPMC some time in September 1995. Preparation is also underway for Malaysia to host the next JCC in 1995.

Thank you.