Leaders justify focus on regional resilience amid crisis

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said regional resilience in confronting the challenges included efforts to keep each other informed of whatever (stimulus) policy packages they planned to adopt individually.

"We stressed the importance of deepening Asean integration to maintain its resilience while remaining open to global and regional trade," Abhisit said in the chairman's statement.

The Asean members would also strengthen and speed up integration through bilateral and subregional mechanisms, he said, adding that Asean was trying to promote the Asean private sector's inter-investment and connection through the Asean Business Advisory.

"We are supporting small and medium enterprise development in the region in the face of the crisis which should be considered an opportunity, rather than a threat, for other major business from within and outside," Abhisit added.

He said the regional grouping did not refer to any particular countries when declaring its stance against protectionism during the crisis survival phase.

"We will also alert each other if there are any measures to be taken in this regard," he said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said Asean was concerned about the extent and impact of the crisis and did not set regional links aside, "We are ready to act together whatever decisions are to be made."

Abdullah added that the region had faced crisis before, in 1997, and had addressed the problem through the Asean plus Three in Kuala Lumpur. Asean would discuss the economic crisis again in Thailand in April when a special summit would be held with various international organisations.

The Malaysian premier was referring to the Asean Secretariat-initiated global dialogue which would be held back-to-back to the Asean plus Three and the East Asian Summit on April 10-12.

Heads of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation, the UNCTAD, the Asian Development Bank, and the UN will participate with leaders of ASEAN.