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Thabo Mbeki pushes for expanded trade with Asean
Phnom Penh, Nov 06: South African President Thabo Mbeki said today his unprecedented address to this year`s Asean summit would open the doors for expanded trade between the 10-member group and the African union.
Phnom Penh, Nov 06: South African President Thabo
Mbeki said today his unprecedented address to this year's
Asean summit would open the doors for expanded trade between
the 10-member group and the African union.
"There has never really been a serious effort to
encourage the development of such relations," he told
reporters following yesterday's end to the association of
South East Asian Nations (Asean) summit.
He said his trip to Cambodia was necessary to ensure a process of negotiations got underway between the two regions, adding he was probably the first non-Asian leader to address the summit. "This marks a change in the sense of cooperation," he said. Mbeki attended the annual summit to promote ties between the Africa Union and Asean, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
He said the next step was to identify benchmarks where trade could be expanded, particularly with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, which already hold solid investments in Africa. At meeting yesterday Mbeki threw his country's support behind southeast Asian nations' call for a United Nations resolution aimed at averting a US-led war against Iraq.
Southeast Asian leaders have expressed deep concern over the situation in mid-east amid prospects of a US-led strike on Iraq and persistent violence in Israel-Palestinian conflict. Asean leaders agreed that the situation in Iraq was "a matter of grave concern" for the international community and urged Baghdad to fully comply with United Nations' security council resolutions on weapons inspections.
Bureau Report
He said his trip to Cambodia was necessary to ensure a process of negotiations got underway between the two regions, adding he was probably the first non-Asian leader to address the summit. "This marks a change in the sense of cooperation," he said. Mbeki attended the annual summit to promote ties between the Africa Union and Asean, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
He said the next step was to identify benchmarks where trade could be expanded, particularly with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, which already hold solid investments in Africa. At meeting yesterday Mbeki threw his country's support behind southeast Asian nations' call for a United Nations resolution aimed at averting a US-led war against Iraq.
Southeast Asian leaders have expressed deep concern over the situation in mid-east amid prospects of a US-led strike on Iraq and persistent violence in Israel-Palestinian conflict. Asean leaders agreed that the situation in Iraq was "a matter of grave concern" for the international community and urged Baghdad to fully comply with United Nations' security council resolutions on weapons inspections.
Bureau Report