PHILIPPINES: MANILA: A-S-E-A-N DISCUSS ECONOMY

Eng/Thai/Nat Finance ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have met in Manila to discuss ways to keep the region's economic recovery moving forward. The ministers also met with the president of the Asian Development Bank, who expressed optimism about poverty reduction in the region. While the meetings were taking place, Philippine authorities demolished a squatter area just a few hundred metres away. An ASEAN report on Asia's economic health said recovery from the two year old economic crisis has been much stronger than expected. It noted that ASEAN economies have grown and predicted growth rates of up to 6 percent in 1999. It was the first meeting of ASEAN's finance ministers in what is Asia's most significant economic and political summit outside of APEC. Chinese, Japanese and Korean ministers and heads of state will join the ten member ASEAN group as the forum continues through the weekend. ASEAN nations have taken different roads to economic recovery, with Indonesia and Thailand accepting an International Monetary Fund bailout and Malaysia introducing capital controls. Japan has pledged 82 (b) billion U-S dollars for the region and it's likely to come under pressure to give even more. Tokyo is expected to announce a substantial support package during the summit. The Asian Development Bank, which met with finance ministers for breakfast, is looking to sustain the recovery. SOUNDBITE: (English) "How to proceed, you know, on our implementation of our poverty reduction strategy, that is one thing. And how to make this recovery in the Asian region more sustainable." SUPER CAPTION: Tadao Chino President, Asian Development Bank ASEAN's finance ministers were positive about the discussions. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We take the approach of taking the positive side not to criticise are other peers, other peer countries so that it is more on the positive side." SUPER CAPTION: Bambang Sudibyo, Indonesian Finance Minister SOUNDBITE: (Thai) "We talked about developing the capital markets, especially debt instruments. But that doesn't mean that we'll have a joint market but rather one developed in the same direction for improved market ties in the future." SUPER CAPTION: Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda Thai Finance Minister But not far from where the finance ministers were congratulating each other, there was a grim reminder of the problems that still exist. A bulldozer was ripping into what had been the home of a poor family of three only a few hundred metres from the ASEAN summit headquarters. With leaders of neighbouring countries arriving, Philippine officials were clearing out more than 1,000 of the city's poorest from a filthy, smoke-filled squatter camp. Officials told the squatters that they were going to be evicted over a loudspeaker. The squatters packed whatever they could, throwing ground coverings, bottles, suitcases and even roosters onto makeshift carts. Back at the ASEAN meeting the Filipino Finance Minister remained cautious about the future. SOUNDBITE: (English) "While our economies look much healthier compared to a year ago, the situation still remains vulnerable and there are risks that need to be addressed if our economies are to experience high sustainable quality growth." SUPER CAPTION: Edgardo Espiritu, Philippines Finance Secretary Deputy finance ministers will meet later with their counterparts from Japan, China and South Korea. The ASEAN nations are seeking to encourage closer cooperation in economic, security, political and social issues with the four states. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/d27c7b4f61d432150009d7767957f552 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork