ASIA COOPERATION DIALOGUE (Singapore's position)

Mr R. Ravindran asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs what is Singapore's position on the proposal by Thailand to create an Asia Co-operation Dialogue.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Prof. S. Jayakumar): Mr Speaker, Sir, Thailand hosted the first meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) from 18-20th June this year. I was among the 17 representatives from Asian participating countries.

When Prime Minister Goh visited Thailand in February this year, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra asked for Singapore's support for his proposal on the Asia Cooperation Dialogue. Prime Minister agreed to support this initiative. We supported it in view of our long-standing approach of advocating a more outward and forward-looking ASEAN and Asia.

The ACD hopes to bring together countries in West Asia, the Gulf countries, South Asia, ASEAN and East Asia. Although there are many existing regional and sub-regional organisations in Asia, such as ASEAN, ARF, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) and the Gulf Cooperation Council, there is, however, minimal interaction between them. The ACD, if properly nurtured, could eventually bridge the gap between these different regional groupings in Asia.

At the recent ACD meeting, all the Foreign Ministers present were of the view that the organisation was a good and timely idea, but they cautioned that the ACD must be inclusive, not a closed grouping nor should it be a regional bloc. It should also avoid duplicating the work of existing regional organisations. The meeting also discussed many ideas and proposals aimed at promoting greater cooperation within Asia. Singapore's own suggestion was that the ACD countries could cooperate in the area of SMEs, because SMEs comprise a large segment of employment in Asia.

Sir, I believe that the ACD could facilitate closer cooperation amongst SMEs in the region. Singapore will work closely with Thailand which is the coordinator for the ACD in the coming year.