Pursuant to the agreement reached during the Fifth ASEAN - EEC Ministerial Meeting in Dublin, Ireland, in November 1984, the ASEAN - EEC Meeting of Ministers of Economic Matters (AEEMM) was held to provide an opportunity to take stock of cooperation on the completion of the first five years of the ASEAN - EEC Cooperation Agreement and to consider how relations between the two regions could be further strengthened.

The AEEMM discussed a range of international economic issues relevant to ASEAN - EEC relations as well as new priorities and directions for ASEAN - EEC cooperation.

Among the agreements reached during the AEEMM was the establishment of a high level working party to examine investment conditions in the two regions with a view to identifying difficulties hindering investments and to study ways and means of facilitating European investment in the ASEAN countries, especially by small and medium sized enterprises. It was decided that the Working party should include representatives of both regions from the public and private sectors, particularly banks. The Working Party met once in Brussels on 17 March 1986. A final meeting is scheduled on 18 July 1 986 in Jakarta to finalize its report for submission to the Sixth ASEAN - EC Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta in October 1986 for further consideration.

The AEEMM also identified, aside from investments, human resource development, science and technology, energy cooperation, tourism and drug abuse as areas of priorities in ASEAN - EEC relations.

The Sixth Meeting of the ASEAN - EEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) ]reviewed the implementation of the activities under the Cooperation Agreement and confirmed the new impetus to the development of ASEAN - EC relations and the definition of new areas as directed by the AEEMM.

On trade issues, as agreed by the JCC, an ASEAN - EC Experts Group Meeting was held in Singapore on 20 June 1986 to examine the specific trade and market access issues of concern to both parties.

An Experts Group Meeting on Human Resources Development was also held in Jakarta from 12 -13 June 1986. The Meeting worked out a comprehensive and harmonised human resources development programme.

The Financial Agreement establishing the ASEAN Timber Technology Centre in Kuala Lumpur was also signed during the meeting of the JCC.

The JCC also exchanged views on various international economic issues and agreed to continue cooperation, whenever possible, on issues such as preparations for the New Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and the renewal of the Multi Fibre Arrangement.