The Ninth Meeting of the ASEAN - New Zealand Dialogue was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on 23 - 24 November 1988.

The Meeting was attended by the Directors - General of ASEAN Brunei Darussalam, ASEAN - Indonesia, ASEAN Malaysia, ASEAN - Singapore, the Deputy Directors-General of ASEAN - Philippines and ASEAN - Thailand, the Assistant Secretary (Political and Security), of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand and their respective delegations. Also in attendance were the Secretary-General of the ASEAN Secretariat and members of his staff.

The Meeting was officially opened by H.E. Mr. All Alatas, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. In his Opening Address, the Minister expressed his satisfaction at the substantial progress that had been achieved. This, he said, was due to the strong determination consistently shown by both ASEAN and New Zealand, in striving to realize their shared aspirations to make their region a more peaceful and prosperous one.

Mr. Ali Alatas noted the importance of New Zealand's basic foreign policy orientation which bore a strong sense of identification with the region. This, he said, not only augured well for their efforts in preparing themselves for the advent of a new "Pacific Era", but also constituted a contributory factor in making the Dialogue more fruitful and meaningful.

He expressed the view that economic and trade issues would be among the crucial items for discussion since the Third Meeting of the ASEAN Heads of Government in Manila had decided the priorities for cooperation between ASEAN and the dialogue countries. Another important issue which deserved special attention in this Meeting would be the problem of how to reverse the declining trend in New Zealand's two-way trade.

With regard to development cooperation, Mr. Ali Alatas noted that ASEAN had obtained positive results from New Zealand's expertise in certain areas of development. He expressed ASEAN's view that nevertheless there was still scope for expansion in development cooperation, namely in the social and cultural fields. This would complement the efforts in economic development and hence provide greater balance in the overall development strategy designed to raise the living standards of the peoples of ASEAN.

One of the highlights of the meeting was the recognition of the shared perceptions held by both sides on a number of regional and international issues. This enhanced the prospects for mutual understanding and cooperation. Developments in ASEAN - New Zealand relations in the fields of economic cooperation and trade were reviewed as well as development cooperation. A wide range of issues of mutual interest was discussed, including the review of New Zealand's Generalized System of Preferences, the Australia - New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA), New Zealand's Tariff liberalization measures and the GATT Round and Cairns Group issues.

Two-way trade between ASEAN and New Zealand had in fact decreased in recent years, largely due to New Zealand's increased self sufficiency in oil production. Nevertheless, ASEAN's non-oil exports to New Zealand were increasing and efforts were underway to promote this trend. One important component of this would be the Trade and Investment Promotion Project (TIPP) to be funded under New Zealand's development cooperation programme with ASEAN. New Zealand had also substantially liberalized its import regime and this would create new opportunities for ASEAN exports to New Zealand. Both sides emphasized the need to involve the private sector more closely in the dialogue process. Both sides also welcomed efforts to develop tourism, noting the recent increase in two-way tourist traffic and that New Zealand now had bilateral air services with three of the ASEAN countries.

New Zealand had also agreed to fund an Inter-Institutional Linkages Programme designed to develop contact and cooperation between institutions and professionals in ASEAN and New Zealand. This project would include social and cultural dimensions and could be describe in terms of the Maori proverb " Naku te rourou - nau te rourou, Ka ki te kete - with your basket and my basket, our needs will be met." New Zealand was already funding projects in English for Business and Technology, scholarships at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and support to the Commerce Facility at Victoria University of Wellington to provide training for ASEAN students.

The Meeting was held in the friendly atmosphere which characterizes the ASEAN - New Zealand relationship. The ASEAN and New Zealand Delegations expressed sincere and warm appreciation to the Government and People of the Republic of Indonesia for the excellent arrangements accorded to them. The Tenth ASEAN - New Zealand Dialogue would be held in New Zealand on a date to be mutually agreed.