His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (R), the Sultan of Brunei receiving in audience Haruhiko Kuroda, the Asian Development Bank president, at the Istana Nurul Iman yesterday. Picture: BT/Jefrisalas

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei will need to continue taking a leadership role in BIMP-EAGA, as it is a "gateway" and a key centre for sub-regional trade, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) president said here yesterday.

The country's role in taking the helm of the sub-region, which groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia (BIMP) and the Philippines under the East ASEAN Growth Area (SAGA), was attributed to its geographically central location particularly as global connectivity has increased via air transport.

During a seminar at the Ministry of Finance, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said that Brunei would not only benefit greatly from intensified sub-regional cooperation, but also contribute to this teamwork because of its "significantly high per capita income" and its strategic positioning between the other three nations.

Apart from financial assistance, Kuroda suggested that Brunei could help out with technical assistance, among other areas of cooperation.

He noted that despite social, economic and cultural differences between countries, cooperation in other regional and sub-regional blocs can and has led to mutual benefits for all. He explained that the same principle could apply to BIMP-EAGA, which was dedicated to improving air and sea transport, national resource management, tourism

and trade. He acknowledged that the four-member growth area was different from other regional blocs on the sectoral basis, but said that the merits of the regional cooperation would remain the same.

"It is kind of a win-win game for all of them (and) the results are quite substantial," he said.

"We are quite sure with Brunei's leadership role in this subregion, it would (contribute) to making real changes," he added.

He said that increased cooperation between BIMP-EAGA countries will promote economic development as well as poverty reduction in some

less-developed areas in the sub-region.

"I am of the view that Brunei will contribute greatly to intensified regional cooperation in BIMP-EAGA," he said. "Surely, we look forward to cooperating closely with Brunei Darussalam, both as a key economy in the region and (as a country that) will accelerate sub-regional cooperation through BIMP-EAGA."

Speaking to The Brunei Times further on the subject, Kuroda said that tourism would be one of the most important industries in this subregion. He explained that tourism was quite labour-intensive and that the demand for it was increasing, which meant that it could generate a "a lot of improvement" in the sub-region.

"So far we have not implemented concrete investment projects (in BIMP-EAGA) but I am quite sure in the future, we will," he shared.

"The most important thing is that the four countries must cooperate and must have a common objective to develop the economies in this sub region," he said.

"Brunei can benefit greatly from intensified trade and tourism investment in BIMP-EAGA."

-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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