ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, 25 Feb. - A high-level mission from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is going to Tokyo to meet with Japanese officials and business leaders on February 28-29 to promote the ASEAN region as a competitive destination of foreign investment riding on the wave of economic resurgence. The Tokyo mission is the first leg of a series of investment promotion activities that will also take ASEAN to the United States and European business capitals.

Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry Dato Seri Rafidah Aziz will lead the Tokyo mission. Ministers and officials from the ten ASEAN countries will be on her delegation together with ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo Severino. Representatives of the ASEAN business community will join the ASEAN delegation.

Close to 800 Japanese business leaders are expected to meet with the mission and participate in the events related to it. Most of the ASEAN private sector participants are expected to come from the electrical and electronics and automotive industries. The ASEAN mission is also scheduled to meet with the leadership of Keidanren, the leading business organization in Tokyo.

ASEAN’s objective is to provide Japanese business leaders with the latest information on the current economic situation and developments in ASEAN at this early stage of economic resurgence. This will be an important occasion for ASEAN to explain the opportunities presented by its moves to integrate the economies of Southeast Asia through such program as the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) and the ASEAN Industrial Cooperation (AICO) scheme.

Events related to the mission include a seminar on the current investment and economic environment in ASEAN, dialogue sessions between the Japanese private sector and the ASEAN ministers, and encounters between the private sectors of both sides.

A leading Japanese corporation and a major Japanese bank will deliver presentations on their experiences in investing and operating in ASEAN and the prospects for other investors in the region. Individual firm-to-firm and business-to-business meetings will also take place.

The organizers are also putting up an investment fair with booths from the ten ASEAN countries to allow ASEAN and Japanese participants to convene individual business meetings, conduct networking, and explore opportunities for linking up with prospective investment and business partners. This will allow them to consult with the officials from the ASEAN side on a one-on-one basis for specific information on or clarification of investment policies.

Japan leads all other sources of foreign direct investment in ASEAN, accounting for at least 20 percent of all such investments in the region. Japan had a total of US$52 billion in investments in ASEAN in 1990-1998, constituting 11 percent of her investments around the world in that period. Japan is also ASEAN’s leading trading partner and primary source of official development assistance.

Working closely with ASEAN in organizing the investment mission are the ASEAN Promotion Centre in Tokyo, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority.