JAKARTA, Mar. 25 - ASEAN and the Asian Development Bank yesterday signed a technical cooperation agreement for the establishment of the ASEAN regional economic surveillance process.

Under the agreement, the ADB will provide a grant amounting to US$707,000.00, which is intended to finance technical training of ASEAN Technical Support Unit (ASTSU) to be based in the ADB headquarters in Manila over a period of two years. The ASTSU will provide support for the ASEAN Surveillance Coordinating Unit (ASCU), which has been established in the ASEAN Secretariat. ASEAN will provide a counterpart support equivalent to about US$ 200,000.

The ASEAN Finance Ministers agreed in October 1998 to establish an economic surveillance process in response to the regional economic and financial crisis. The surveillance process will keep track of macroeconomic indicators and short-term capital flows as an early warning system to help prevent the recurrence of the financial crisis.

The ASEAN surveillance process aims to fill the gap between national and global surveillance processes led by the International Monetary Fund. This will be done by developing an institutional process that will permit a more effective coordination of responses to evolving economic and financial situations both within the region and outside. In particular, ASCU will be responsible for preparing surveillance reports for the consideration by the ASEAN Select Committee consisting of Deputies of Finance Ministers and Central Banks, and by the ASEAN Finance Ministers.