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ASEAN needs to address serious development gaps among members, says UN

ESCAP makes recommendations as ASEAN Summit discusses integration plan Bangkok (United Nations Information Services) The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs to address development gaps between its 10 members, if it is to build a more integrated ASEAN community, says the United Nations.

As ASEAN leaders gather in Singapore to sign the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint this week, a study by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), released to coincide with the ASEAN Summit, outlines the major challenges for ASEAN integration and recommend key actions for ASEAN integration.

These include meeting minimum international standards of governance, providing financial transfers to poorer members, and strengthening trans-ASEAN networks to enable all member countries to benefit from the free movement of goods, capital and people.

Challenges and Opportunities for ASEAN Integration, is the first in a new ESCAP series on inclusive and sustainable development that aims to provide strategic analysis of key Asia-Pacific issues and contribute to regional and subregional policy dialogue and solutions.

The many achievements of ASEAN notwithstanding, the study notes serious development gaps between its members. These disparities need to be bridged urgently to prevent losers of the integration process from being permanently left behind.

Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Noeleen Heyzer, stresses the urgency of addressing development gaps, stating that, in the long run, uneven development is unsustainable, as instabilities resulting from disparities will spill across borders into neighbouring countries, involving the movement of displaced people and the transformation of border areas into possible conflict zones.-¤ Nor is it sustainable to build firewalls to contain instabilities rather than address root causes.

The largest disparities pertain to some environmental and health issues. The ASEAN contribution to global carbon emissions is relatively small about 3.3 per cent of the global total, while its share of the world population is 7.7 per cent.

However, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Malaysia exceed the world average of per capita CO2 emissions by a large margin. Brunei Darussalam's per capita emissions rate is over 60,000 times higher than that of Cambodia.

Disparities in health are stark. The child and maternal mortality rates of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Myanmar, for example, are between 11 and 47 times higher than those of Singapore.

In trade and investment, huge gaps remain between ASEAN members.

Intraregional trade remains at a low level of one quarter of total ASEAN trade, despite the liberalization efforts under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in ASEAN has been heavily skewed, with four countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam, taking in 95 per cent of all FDI inflows. Intra-ASEAN FDI has been low and stagnant.

In addition to development gaps, the study identifies a lack of reliable and timely statistical data and inadequate governance as two other key challenges that ASEAN faces.

On governance, some countries trail behind the world average in indicators related to freedom of expression, association and media, quality of policy formulation and implementation, rule of law, and corruption. Member countries that are relatively well-off also do not rank commensurately in one or another of these indicators.

The study examines current ASEAN initiatives and identifies areas where actions need to be strengthened and transformed into genuine integration mechanisms. For example, on cross-border human mobility, the study finds that the economic benefits from migration are clouded in several countries by concerns over social costs and unintended consequences of migration policies.

The report calls on ASEAN to promote a regional strategy for managing migration in a coordinated and integrated manner. The migration-development nexus and the role of remittances in poverty reduction, as well as the gender dimensions of migration in ASEAN should also be addressed.

ESCAP emphasizes that efforts towards regional integration will require all ASEAN members to obtain minimum levels for economic and social development for them to be in a position to benefit from the envisaged free movement in various spheres.

The report identifies three key areas where actions are required.

OPEC to meet in Abu Dhabi on December 5

OPEC meets in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 5 to discuss the possibility of a supply increase. Consumer nations have urged the group to raise output to halt oil's rally towards $100 a barrel.

The last 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) increase, agreed at OPEC's September meeting, has failed to stem oil's gain of more than 40 percent since mid-August. Below are recent comments by ministers and officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi in Singapore on Nov. 27 with US crude oil prices at around $97: "When we meet on the fifth we will look at all the information available, and decide accordingly, on whatever the information tells us about supply, demand, inventories.

Asked about the impact of high prices, Naimi gave his standard answer: "Price is determined by the market, so let's leave it at that. It goes up, it goes down, that's what the market does."

Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari on Nov. 24 with US crude above $98 said "Some countries agree with an output increase and others believe there is a good balance between oil supply and demand. The issue will be discussed in the next meeting." "If statistics show there is a need to raise OPEC's output, Iran can produce more oil to meet the market's needs,"

President Hugo Chavez said on Nov. 21 when US crude was above $97, "The price of oil is almost 100 dollars per barrel, which is the fair price, and I'm sure we'll continue along that path."

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Nov. 20 when US crude was above $98: "OPEC has sufficient production levels, there is a lot of crude in the market," "The oil market is fundamentally affected by the evolution of the dollar, by the mortgage crisis in the US, which is creating lots of speculation and by geopolitical tensions."

Libya's National Oil Corporation chairman Shokri Ghanem in comments to Reuters on Nov. 22 when US crude was above $97: "OPEC cannot do much," he said.

Bangladesh tenders to import 100,000 tonnes of rice

Bangladesh's Food and Disaster Management Ministry has issued a tender to import 100,000 tonnes of non-basmati parboiled rice to meet a post-cyclone emergency, food officials said on Tuesday.

The tender will close on Jan. 9, with validity up to Jan. 29, for shipment within 30 days of the date of signing of the contract.

The tender price has to be quoted separately for the country's Chittagong and Mongla ports, based on the cost of cargo, insurance and freight including stevedoring on the seller's account, at both ends of the shipment.

Earlier on Thursday, Bangladeshi firm, Mannan and Brothers, bid at $399.97 per tonne to supply 50,000 tonnes of non-basmati parboiled rice in a separate tender.

The government is evaluating the offer, the officials said.

Bangladesh requires 1 million tonnes of rice supply either from imports or grants by the end of June, officials said. Cyclone Sidr, which hit the impoverished South Asian Country on Nov. 15, killed about 3,500 people, displaced 2 million and damaged a huge quantity of crops.

The frequent cyclones, floods and other natural disasters will disrupt agricultural production, raising food deficit from the present 2.8-3.0 millions to 4.7 million tonnes in two decades' time, agriculture officials said.

Reuters