Your Excellency Klaus Kinkel,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany
and President of the Council of Ministers of the EU,

Your Excellency Alain Lamassoure,
Minister Delegate with responsibility for European Affairs of France,

Your Excellency Yannos Kranidiotis,
Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece,

Your Excellenc Hans van den Broek,
EU Commissioner for External Political Relations,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of my ASEAN colleagues, would like to welcome you and the members of your delegation to this annual dialogue between ASEAN and the European Union.

Since our last Meeting in Singapore, a number of events have transpired in the world that are of great importance to both our regions. Among them are the entry into force of the Treaty of European Union; the US Congress'approval of NAFTA; the entry into force of the EEA Agreement,- and, most recently, the signing of the final accord of the Uruguay Round at Marrakesh.

These developments have cast A EAN-EU relations in a new light. It is my fervent hope that today's discussion will enable us to review and update our relations with a view to strengthening our partnership amidst rapid and profound changes in the global political and economic landscape.

Over the past 14 years, relations between our regions have expanded considerably, a process given impetus by the signing of the ASEAN-EC Cooperation Agreement in 1980.

Two-way trade has grown steadily, reaching US$54 billion in 1992. Significantly, this growth in absolute values has been accompanied by a qualitative shift. Since 1987, more than half of the community's imports from ASEAN have consisted of manufactured products.

As is normal in any relationship, we have had to deal with a number of problems, particularly in trade. Both ASEAN and EU have a vital stake in a liberal global trading regime. I would, therefore, hope that we can face together the obstacles to the fuller realization of such a regime. The size and dynamism of both our markets give me confidence that a double-digit growth rate in trade can be maintained if we try hard.

The EU is now the second largest source of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) for ASEAN. In the last two years, a total of 136 joint venture projects, valued at 14 million ECU, have been approved under the European Community Investment Partners (ECIP) scheme.

We count on your continued cooperation in bringing European investors to Southeast Asia and in promoting technology transfer to our region through foreign investment and techno-scientific cooperation.

The importance of fostering investments and direct contact between our private sectors cannot be understated. As Sir Leon Brittan has said, "no amount of policy dialogue can substitute for solid economic links and the mutual understanding that comes with it."

We have, over the years, undertaken a wide variety of cooperative projects -- ranging from patents and trademarks seminars to joint scientific research. From 1976 to 1993 total cooperation funding, solely from within the EU budget, reached 850 million ECU, or US$950 million at current exchange rates.

We welcome the signing of the financing agreement for the EU-ASEAN Management Centre in Brunei and the approval of the first European Investment Bank (EIB) loan to the region. These agreements manifest the value that we place on our cooperative endeavors. ASEAN appreciated this. At the same time, we request EU to facilitate the process of establishing an EU-ASEAN centre of excellence in the Philippines. The internal processes of ASEAN have been completed. There is no more reason for delay.

Our relations have expanded to such an extent that we have found it necessary to form a number of sub-committees under the ASEAN-EU Joint Cooperation Committee. At its Meeting last January, in Davao City, the ASEAN-EU Joint Cooperation Committee identified areas for intensive cooperation -- market access, trade in services, economic and industrial cooperation, and support for the AFTA process. Our delegates agreed to promote the participation of the private sector in defining priorities for cooperation. They decided to push the establishment of a multi-annual cooperation programme covering pre-competitive research activities, transfer of technology and demonstration project activities. They agreed on a study of possibilities for collaboration in the field of global climate change. And they decided to form an eminent persons group to study the future course of ASEAN-EU relations. We look forward to the outcome of studies currently being undertaken by the EU on the proposals presented by the ASEAN during that meeting.

I hope that our discussion today will be as fruitful and productive as our previous encounters.

We look forward to seeing you again at the 11 th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting in Karlsruhe this September, when we can resume our wide-ranging discussion both on ASEAN-EU relations and on developments in Europe and ASEAN that affect us all.

Today, let us embark on such discussions in a spirit worthy of the promise that ASEAN-EU relations offer to the peoples of Europe and Southeast Asia.