1. The Eighth Meeting of the ASEAN-Canada Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) took place in Jakarta from 6-8 April 1993.
2. The Meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Agus Tarmidzi, Director-General of ASEAN-Indonesia and spokesman for the ASEAN delegation, and by Mr. Howard Balloch, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Asia and Pacific Branch, External Affairs and International Trade of Canada, and spokesman for the Canadian delegation.
3. The private sector was represented by the Chairman of the ASEAN Section of the ASEAN-Canada Business Council and the Vice-President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
4. Also in attendance from ASEAN were the Chairman of the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN) and concurrently Chairman of the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology, and representatives from the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information and ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry, as well as officials from the ASEAN Secretariat.
5. The JCC meets every 18 months to review and promote industrial, commercial and development cooperation between ASEAN and Canada under the framework of the ASEAN-Canada Economic Cooperation Agreement of 1981. Since its establishment 11 years ago, the JCC has served as an effective forum for ASEAN and Canada to arrive at a better understanding of international and regional issues and to forge common approaches in areas of mutual interest between the two Partners.
6. The agenda of the 8th JCC covered a wide range of subjects, among them: the North American Free Trade Agreement, the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Commodities, APEC, Industrial and Commercial Cooperation and Development Cooperation Policies and Programs. The comprehensive agenda of the 8th JCC reflected a significant expansion and increasing dynamism of ASEAN-Canada relations. ASEAN and Canada see the need to eventually expand the JCC discussions in the future to political and security issues.
7. The growing, expansion in ASEAN-Canada relations was reflected in the draft of a successor framework Agreement on ASEAN-Canada Economic Cooperation which was adopted by the Eighth JCC. The successor Agreement, which replaces the expired 1981 Agreement, will be signed during the Post Ministerial Conference in Singapore in July this year. The draft successor Agreement intends to bring ASEAN and Canada into a new era of partnership based on mutuality of interests and the recognition of the important role that the private sector has to play in promoting ASEAN-Canada cooperation.
8. In his opening statement, the ASEAN Spokesman, Mr. Agus Tarmidzi, remarked on the considerable progress that has been achieved in the cooperation between ASEAN and Canada for the past 11 years. He expressed the hope that the quality of partnership that has characterized ASEAN-Canada cooperation will continue and improve for the rest of this decade and beyond.
9. Mr. Howard Balloch, Leader of the Canadian Delegation, remarked that Canada values this Dialogue with ASEAN. He gave the assurance that Canada continues to accord high priority to ASEAN and expressed the hope that ASEAN-Canada relations can move to a broader level with the signing of the new Economic Cooperation Agreement in July.
10. The ASEAN Canada Business Council (ACBC) participated actively in the Meeting and put forward a number of suggestions with a view to strengthening commercial and industrial cooperation between ASEAN and Canada. Both sides were pleased with the constructive role played by the ASEAN-Canada Business Council in the JCC process and reaffirmed the importance of the private sector in strengthening commercial and industrial cooperation.
11. The 8th JCC discussed current international and regional developments and their implications on ASEAN-Canada relations. ASEAN and Canada agreed that the successful and timely conclusion of the Uruguay Round was necessary and that both sides should cooperate closely to achieve comprehensive and balanced results in the Uruguay Round. ASEAN and Canada exchanged views on the nature and status of NAFTA and AFTA and agreed that a continuing exchange of information on these schemes was important. Canada took note of ASEAN's request for support of the CEPT Schemes for AFTA in GATT. The JCC also noted that ASEAN-Canada cooperation on commodities has progressed towards enhancing trade relations, increasing participation in the development of resource-based industries, and intensifying research and development.
12. ASEAN and Canada deliberated on aspects of development cooperation, in particular on future policy directions. Both sides shared the view that development cooperation should be more strategic in nature in order to achieve greater impact on the larger objectives of cooperation in the region. In pursuit of this common objective, Canada will consult closely with ASEAN in the formulation of its regional policy framework for development assistance.
13. In reviewing development cooperation projects, the 8th JCC noted that considerable progress has been made in the fields of science and technology, agriculture and forestry, natural resources and the environment, and human resource development.
14. Both ASEAN and Canada shared the view that the 8th JCC provided the opportunity to discuss important issues affecting the Dialogue relations in the context of international and regional settings. Specific items of follow-up have been mutually identified and agreed upon to keep the progress of cooperation moving until the next JCC which will be held in Vancouver in the Spring of 1994.
