President Kuroda Participates in Two Regional Cooperation Summits

CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES - ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda today participated in the summit meetings of two important subregional economic cooperation groups and offered continued support for their efforts to reduce poverty and promote growth.

Mr. Kuroda met with government leaders at the 3rd Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit, which was chaired by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Republic of the Philippines, as well as at the 2nd Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Summit, chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Republic of Indonesia.

The ADB President praised the progress made in both initiatives.

“The subregional cooperation being developed though BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT is an important building block within the ASEAN region,” Mr. Kuroda said. “They are building momentum towards regional integration and development.”

During the summits, Mr. Kuroda noted that ADB’s 2006 Regional Cooperation and Integration Strategy and recent institutional realignment ensures that ADB is well positioned to support the economic and social goals of the subregional groupings.

“Regional cooperation and integration is an important platform to reinforce country-level efforts to reduce poverty,” Mr. Kuroda said.

BIMP-EAGA was formally launched in 1994 as a key strategy of the participating governments to address the social and economic development of their less developed and more remote subregions. The immediate goal is to encourage increased trade, investment, and tourism in the area. In 2005, the leaders approved the BIMP-EAGA Roadmap to Development and this has provided both strategic direction and added momentum to cooperation efforts.

The initiative covers 57.5 million people in Brunei Darussalam; Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Maluku, and Irian Jaya in Indonesia; Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan in Malaysia; and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines.

President Kuroda pledged continued ADB support to BIMP-EAGA, particularly in the areas of transport, energy, and trade facilitation.

The IMT-GT Leaders Summit today endorsed the IMT-GT Development Roadmap and agreed to establish a permanent IMT-GT secretariat, initially with ADB assistance.

“The decisions of this meeting today will generate substantial momentum for IMT-GT subregional cooperation,” Mr. Kuroda said. “ADB is very pleased to be a development partner of IMT-GT, and will support it in every possible way.”

Subregional cooperation under IMT-GT began in 1993. This initiative aims to promote economic growth through closer cross-border cooperation in the subregion. The areas covered by the program include 10 provinces comprising the entire island of Sumatra in Indonesia, eight provinces in Southern Thailand, and eight states in peninsular Malaysia, with a cumulative population of almost 65 million.

“ADB strongly supports the shared vision of a prosperous ASEAN community that is free from poverty,” said Mr. Kuroda. “With commitment, and steady action, including through subregional cooperation efforts, the goal is within reach.”

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