Jakarta, 6 May - Speaking at the opening of the two-day seminar on ASEAN Development Cooperation Forum at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry, called on ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners and other international organizations for joint undertakings "to improve financial efficiency in our countries and assist in real sector recovery".

"We are at the crossroads and face many challenges. For us to succeed in overcoming these challenges and realizing our vision, we need each other’s cooperation," Ginandjar stressed. He added that "if anything, the economic crisis has underscored the importance of greater economic integration among member states. Greater economic integration will have profound impact on our economies. We would expect to see greater cross border trade and more specialization in the production of goods and services."

For his part, Rodolfo Severino, Secretary-General of ASEAN, reaffirmed that despite the economic and financial crisis, ASEAN remains an "outward-looking" organization. He said that ASEAN is open to trade, economic links and security dialogues with others. He also stated that ASEAN "welcomes cooperation for development with other countries and groups of countries and with other international organization".

The ASEAN Development Cooperation Forum is being held to identify how ASEAN and its Dialogue Partners, the international financial institutions and others in the international community can collaborate in realizing the objectives and priorities laid down in the ASEAN Vision 2020 and its implementing instrument, the Hanoi Plan of Action.

ASEAN Dialogue Partners include Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the United States of America.