The Ninth ASEAN-US Dialogue was held in Bangkok on 1-2 September 1990.
The Meeting was attended by government and private sector delegations from the ASEAN member countries and the United States. The Secretary-General of the ASEAN Secretariat and his staff were also present. The Meeting was co-chaired by M.R. Kasem S Kasemsri, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Leader of the Thai Delegation and Dr. Richard H. Solomon, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Leader of the US Delegation.
The private sectors of ASEAN and the US were represented by the ASEAN-US Business Council, led by Mr. Anand Panyarachun and Mr. Robert Driscoll.
The Meeting agreed that the Dialogue provided an important forum for both sides to review and discuss various important economic issues of mutual interest and concern.
During the meeting, a session was held especially for the Representatives of the ASEAN and the US Private Sectors to exchange views on a number of trade, investment and economic issues with delegations of both sides. The Meeting agreed that investment cooperation should be strengthened and felt the need to further enhance private sectors' interests and activities of both sides in this field. In this regard, the Meeting noted that the Private Investment and Trade Opportunities (PITO) Project a project undertaken by USAID and the ASEAN-US private sectors - could be regarded as a model for private sector-led initiatives to promote trade and investment. The PITO will identify trade policy constraints and their solutions and develop capital markets by supporting the establishment of the ASEAN Growth Fund to provide equity financing for ASEAN-US joint ventures. The Meeting also considered the various ASEAN industrial schemes such as the ASEAN Industrial Joint Venture (AIJV) and the ASEAN Brand-to-Brand Complementation (BBC) where the US participation would be welcome. There was a suggestion that consideration be given to include other products in addition to automobiles in the BBC Scheme. The Meeting was of the view that the participation of the private sectors was a useful innovation in the dialogue process.
The Meeting expressed appreciation for the efforts of the UNSC Perm Five to facilitate the Cambodian peace process. They urged the Cambodian parties to cooperate with this effort by forming at an early date an SNC within the Perm Five framework. In this regard, they expressed support for Indonesia's hosting of a meeting of the Cambodian parties in Jakarta under the aegis of the Paris Conference co-chairmen in order to accelerate formation of an SNC.
The Meeting exchanged views on the current crisis in the Middle East, particularly its economic implications for the US and the ASEAN region. In this regard, participants reiterated their support for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council's resolutions on the Gulf Crisis.
The Meeting agreed that the successful outcome of the Uruguay Round of the Multilateral Trade Negotiations at the end of this year was a great importance not only to the ASEAN-US trade relations, but also to the maintenance and strengthening of the world's multilateral trading system. The Meeting also agreed that both sides should continue to take a firm position on the issues of agricultural support and protection in the Uruguay Round. Both sides reiterated their commitment to enhance their cooperation to ensure the successful conclusion of the Round. They looked forward to the forthcoming discussion on the Negotiations among APEC Trade Ministers in Vancouver on 11-12 September 1990.
A great number of economic, trade and investment issues were discussed. With the total ASEAN-US trade amounting to US$41 billion in 1989, both sides continued to emphasize the complementarity of their economies. However, the Meeting recognized that there were a number of trade and investment problems which affect ASEAN-US economic activities. Both sides agreed to -continue their consultations in this and other relevant fora in order to resolve their trade and investment problems.
The Meeting noted the progress made in the on-going development cooperation projects. Although greater emphasis would be placed on the PITO Project and related trade and investment projects, the Meeting felt that it was also important to continue the current ASEAN Human Resources Development Programme. This Programme includes scholarship funding to the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), the ASEAN Agricultural Development Planning Centre (ADPC), the Plant Quarantine Centre and the ASEAN Scholarship Programme for Applied Tropical Medicine and Public Health (TROPMED) projects. Emphasis would be placed also upon urban and industrial Environmental projects, an area which has gained increasing importance globally.
As the scope of ASEAN-US economic relations has expanded a great deal with different mechanism operating to take care of different aspects, the Meeting took the opportunity to review all these mechanisms in order to reinvigorate these relations. The Meeting firmly believed that the initiatives and new approaches taken would further strengthen ASEAN-US relations as a whole.
It was agreed that the 10th ASEAN-US Dialogue would be held in the United States before the next ASEAN Ministerial Meeting/Post Ministerial Conferences (AMM/PMC) on a date to be mutually agreed upon.
The Meeting was held in a spirit of cooperation and cordiality. The ASEAN and the US delegations expressed their sincere appreciation to the Government and people of the Kingdom of Thailand for the warm hospitality accorded to them and the excellent arrangements made for the Meeting.
