Barriers Hamper Full Trade Potential

Bandar Seri Begawan - Certain prevailing trade barriers are hampering the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) from enjoying one of the highest levels of intra-regional trade, said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, Bernama reported yesterday.

"Perhaps, the root cause lies in structural asymmetries in our national regional economies that limit the scope for trade and investment," he told the First BIMP-EAGA Chief Minister's and Governors' Forum in Kota Kinabalu.

He said BIMP-EAGA groupings needed to enhance and diversify their production and export capacities to exploit emerging market opportunities within and beyond their shores.

Musa believed that the forum would have the added impetus to truly facilitate the restructuring of rules and procedures described as "not too conducive for increased trade, investment and industry development.

He said there was perhaps a critical need now to enhance business capacity and reach a political agreement to formulate a business-friendly framework to achieve the objectives of BIMP-EAGA.

Musa also called on participating governments in BIMP-EAGA to advise the business fraternity to begin with some doable endeavours such as services and then move to manufacturing and trading in intermediate products.

"Trade goes hand-in-hand with investment, and some may consider investment co-operation as a precondition for all other forms of co-operation," he said, adding that member countries should seriously re-evaluate barriers in these areas, if any.

Meanwhile, Bernadino Vega Jr, the Head of BIMPEAGA National. Secretariat (Indonesia), said local governments should be the core for the social and economic development of BIMP-EAGA by having some say and influence on national economic development decisions.

He called on participants to examine ways to enhance land and sea transport links among member countries as well as the expansion of air agreements. They should also look into areas like power generation and interconnection, finding renewable energy sources as well as joint promotion and marketing of tourism, said Vega. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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