ASEAN-US

ASEAN and the US made significant progress in the area of environmental cooperation during the year. The Project Steering Committee meeting of the Environmental Improvement Project (EIP) had its first meeting on 20 October 1995 in Jakarta. The Project Steering Committee is made up of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Environment (ASOEN), representatives from the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry Working Group for Sustainable Development and American Chamber, of Commerce, and representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, EIP and U.S. Agency for International Development.

At the 12th ASEAN-US Dialogue Meeting, the US indicated that environmental issues offered some of the best opportunities for cooperation between ASEAN and the US. During the year under review, the ASEAN Secretariat, with the assistance of representative, from the US- EIP, US-Asian Partnership (US-AEP) and US Environmental Protection Agency, initiated several environmental activities at the regional level. Among the activities are : (1) workshop to develop protocols for coordinating transboundary shipment of hazardous waste within ASEAN; (2) workshop to analyze the feasibility of institutionalizing inter and intra-ASEAN national waste exchange; and (3) the development and distribution of attractie ASEAN-wide aticles which will be prepared in national languages, highlighting environmental technical and economic successes the regional for publication in selected journals and national airline magazines.

Significant progress was also achieved through the successful implementation of the Private Investment Trade Opportunities (PITO) Project. Since 1990, PITO has developed and efficient multinational. infrastructure which has supported the expansion of trade and investment between ASEAN and the United State,. However the PITO Project ended in June 1995 and will now continue on a self-sustaining basis.

A new component of the ASEAN-US Dialogue which was suggested during the 12th ASEAN-US Dialogue is social and cultural cooperation. ASEAN has started discussions with USIA on the possibility of using its Fulbright Scholarship as a means of developing people-to-people cultural exchange programmes under the ASEAN- US Dialogue Relationship.

Under the ASEAN-USTR (United States Trade Representative) Relations, the two sides continued to discuss the plan for the implementation of the US-ASEAN Alliance for Mutual Growth (AMG) which was proposed by the US. An AEM-USTR Meeting as held on 13 November, 1994 in Jakarta to consider the revised proposal on the AMG Programme. This was followed by another discussion at the senior officials level between SEOM leaders and the Assistant USTR on 18 March 1995 in Jakarta. Generally, ASEAN Member Countries agreed to the Devisee proposals from the US and are looking into the details of the implementation of the proposed programmes and activities. The priority sectors of focus under the AMG Programme are: (i) SME Development/ Improvement; (ii) Technology Flows and Technical Development; (iii) Human Resource Development; (iv) Promotion of Trade and Commercial Ties; (v) Infrastructure Development; and (vi) Coopeation in Standards.

The last concultation between SEOM and Assistant USTR agreed on the need to select implementable programmes and activities, to identify priority areas in the above six sectors and to optimise the allocation of resources for those programmes and activities. It as also agreed to separate "country-specific" and the "broad ASEAN" approach to the Programme as well as to find ways to encourage private sector involvement in the Programme. Both sides have also agreed to designate focal points at the various ASEAN capitals as well as in Washington to monitor and inform participating countries on the progress of the programme.