Economic Roadmap At BIMP-EAGA Meet In KK
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Bandar Seri Begawan - A roadmap that will define the sub-region's economic targets in the next ten years was the main agenda at the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Roadmap Workshop now going on in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The road map is in line with the goal of increasing trade, tourism and investments among BIMP-EAGA member countries.

Representing Brunei Darussalam at the workshop were Pg Hj Mohd Yakub Pg Hj Othman, the Ministry of Communication's Director of Transportation; Hj Mohd Tali Hj Abd Rahman, Head of Tourism Brunei Unit; Hj Mat Zahri Hj Yusof, Director of Land Transport; and, officers from BIMP-EAGA Unit, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources.

Also attending the workshop were Dr Hj Kamaruddin Dato Talib, Hj Ismail Hj Damit and Hj Osman Hj Omar, all BIMP-EAGA Business Council Directors for Brunei.

Held from March 21 until today, the workshop discusses the formulation of a roadmap proposed by Brunei in an effort to strengthen sub-regional cooperation through enhancing trade and investment facilitation measures as well as promote private sector participation.

The roadmap will identify EAGA-wide and sector specific targets based on the four areas of BIMP-EAGA cooperation namely, transportation, infrastructure and ICT, natural resources, tourism as well as small and medium enterprises.

The targets will be aligned with the objectives set by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

To increase joint trade and investments in the sub-region, the roadmap will also outline measures on enhancing trade and investment facilitation and promotion, industrial complementation, human resource development and capacity building as well as improvement of logistic services.

Country members have fully supported the BIMP-EAGA roadmap as this will provide the member nations with a clear path towards achieving a more cohesive and integrated sub-regional development and determining whether or not they are making progress based on the targets.

With the assistance of the ASEAN Secretariat, the initial draft of the roadmap will be done by BIMP-Facilitation Centre, which serves as a central coordinating office for BIMP-EAGA for discussion by the senior officials during the next BIMP-EAGA Informal Senior Officials Meeting this year.

BIMP-EAGA is an economic cooperation created in 1994 to spur socio-economic growth of participating countries.

The sub-regional growth puts emphasis on the individual strengths of member nations in prioritising much needed interventions. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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