Asean looks Gulf experience

The issue was discussed during a meeting of foreign ministers from Asean and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The GCC has more experience in dealing with the International Atomic Energy Agency over the code of conduct to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Piriya Khempon said. Many Asean members, including Thailand, are looking to developing nuclear energy.

The meeting, which was co-chaired by the Thai Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, agreed to strengthen co-operation over a wide range of sectors between the two regional groupings.

Secretariats of the two groups will plan to have more frequent contact, rather than every two years on the sidelines of the UN meeting, Piriya said, adding they have the potential to expand cooperation in fields such as tourism, culture and investment.

The two regions have been linked culturally and economically for a long time but this has not been developed to create more benefits, he said.

Prince Saud Al-Faisal invited more construction firms from Asean to invest in the GCC as there were plenty of projects in the Gulf, Piriya said.

The cooperation between the GCC and Asean could also benefit the domestic affairs of many Asean members such as the Philippines, which received assistance from Gulf states in the Organisation of Islamic Conference to secure peace talks with the Moro separatists, he said.

The GCC is made up of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman , Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The GCC is intensively integrated in many aspects with plans to have a common market and a single currency by 2010, and has had a Joint Defence Council since 2000, while Asean hopes to transform itself into a real community by 2015.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation