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MANILA, Philippines?Asean is preparing its own Marshall Plan, the United States program in post World War II to rebuild and create an economically stronger Western Europe to repel the threat of internal communism, the Asean Secretariat said Tuesday.
The Asean version, the Comprehensive Asian Development Plan, is currently being developed ?as an overarching blueprint for regional cooperation and integration,? the secretariat said in a statement.
The plan?s needs for ?sound research, credible policy options, and rigorous academic support? will be provided by the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (Eria).
In a working lunch in Jakarta Monday, Asean Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan described the plan to Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Masayuki Naoshima. He urged the Japanese official and his delegation to look at the plan and the roles of Asean and Eria as a package.
?Asean and Eria are two key supportive pillars of the plan,? he said.
In response, the Japanese minister said his country is a strong supporter of the region and the role of the region-wide research institute.
?The main pillar of our new economic strategy is to grow together with the Asian region and Eria plays a central role in supporting this approach,? said Naoshima.
Surin, who coined the ?Marshall Plan for Asia? tag for the plan, said his office was collaborating with Eria and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the development of the plan.
The plan aims ?to contribute to coordinating, expediting, upgrading, and expanding sub-regional initiatives and promoting private sector participation.?
Earlier in the day Monday, the Asean secretary general had a breakfast meeting with Nippon Keidanren, Japan?s association of business organizations, to discuss private sector involvement in building the comprehensive plan.
There was ?no other alternative but to engage with the private sector in terms of funding and technology. We are moving away from a model where the governments are doing everything by themselves to one where governments are in partnership with the private sector,? Surin said.
In response, Nippon Keidanren chairman Fujio Mitarai said the organization was looking forward to cooperating on the development plan.
?Keidanren, the Asean Secretariat, and Eria should work together in a trinity in this process,? he said.
Mitarai, who is also the chairman and chief executive officer of Canon Inc., invited the secretary general to visit Japan to brief Keidanren members on the development plan.
Nippon Keidanren, which currently has some 1,600 members comprising companies, industrial associations, and economic organizations, seeks to accelerate the growth of the Japanese economy and to transform it into one that is sustainable and driven by the private sector.
Both sides also highlighted the increasing trade ties within the region and Asia?s potential to be the engine of growth for the world. In 2006, almost 60 percent of Asean-6 exports were shipped largely to East Asian destinations. Currently, North America and the EU account for less than 40 percent of Asean-6 exports. Their share was much larger in the earlier decades.
