DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Regional Leaders Boost Potential of Southern Economic Corridor” plus 9 more

"Private and public sector stakeholders in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) agreed on practical actions which will enhance the business climate along the corridor as they closed a two-day symposium here, statement from adb here said on Friday.

"The specific measures agreed upon address the continued need for infrastructure development along the corridor areas and provinces, including rural and feeder roads; speed up transport and trade facilitation measures along the corridor, including the GMS Cross Border Transport Agreement; disseminate information to the private sector to facilitate business decisions in the SEC; convene regular dialogues among the public and private sectors and other SEC stakeholders; and establish a systematic monitoring system for actions to promote SEC development,"it said.

It added: Provincial authorities, led by the governors of the 43 provinces along the SEC in Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Thailand, and Viet Nam emphasized the importance of  greater cooperation and closer coordination between them and the private sector, the development partners and donor organizations, and other stakeholders to promote and facilitate the development of the SEC.Private sector participants, led by the secretary general of the GMS Business Forum, stressed the importance of addressing the procedural barriers to cross-border trade and disseminating information on trading along the SEC. They echoed the provincial governors in calling for strengthened dialogue between the public and private sectors.

At the opening of the symposium on Wednesday, H.E. Cham Prasidh, Senior Minister, Minister of the Ministry of Commerce and GMS Minister of Cambodia emphasized that the private sector is the primary driver of economic growth in the SEC, with the public sector establishing a conducive policy and regulatory environment.

He referred to the SEC as the main platform or "runway" for the development of the Mekong region, extending to the rest of ASEAN, South Asia and the People's Republic of China.  

SEC is truly a regional corridor that has much wider geographical significance than the areas it covers. He further recommended that pragmatic and results-oriented efforts are necessary to ensure that less developed areas of the SEC share in the benefits of SEC development, with geographic priorities established.

The two-day symposium, which had the theme "Synergizing Private Sector Dynamism and Public Planning" - brought together some 200 participants, including provincial government officials, private stakeholders experts, and development partners from the GMS. It was organized by ADB and funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

"This symposium gave us the opportunity to jointly take stock of the state of SEC development, addressing trade and transport facilitation, logistics development, and promotion of value chains, industrial clusters and economic links in manufacturing, agro-business and tourism,"  said Thomas Crouch, Deputy Director General in ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

The GMS countries envision the SEC as an engine of economic growth and social development, creating jobs, increasing incomes, reducing poverty, and improving the living conditions of the people in the corridor and surrounding areas, ensuring that its development is inclusive and sustainable.

The ADB has been promoting the private sector-driven economic corridor approach to the development of the GMS, aiming to extend the benefits of improved transport links to remote or landlocked regions in the GMS, which have been disadvantaged by their weak linkages with more prosperous neighboring areas.

Australia is a key partner in the development of the SEC and the GMS. Through AusAID, Australia is providing $43.5 million to upgrade the Southern Coastal Corridor in Cambodia and Viet Nam. Australia is providing more than $302 million for other critical infrastructure and trade projects in the GMS. This will help increase economic integration, access to markets and basic services, as well as providing employment opportunities for poor people in the subregion.

TAIPEI, March 11 -- Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of Taiwan's main opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), announced Friday  to stand in the 2012 Taiwan leader election.
Tsai will firstly compete with other DPP members in the inner-party primary contest.
Lu Hsiu-Lien (Annette Lu), former deputy chief in the Taiwan authority, announced last month to run for the 2012 election.
In 2008, the Kuomintang (KMT) Party's Ma Ying-jeou won the island's leadership election.(Xinhua/sp)

CAIRO, March 10 -- Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa on Thursday met here with a Chinese delegation visiting Egypt, headed by Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhai Jun.

Zhai said the situation in the Mideast has undergone drastic changes these days, drawing a lot of attention from the international community.

China maintains good relations with all Arab countries and hopes the turmoil-hit countries can return to peace and stability as soon as possible, and will use peaceful ways to solve the political crisis so that more deaths or injuries can be avoided, Zhai said. The international community and the Mideast countries should all play a constructive role in stabilizing the regional situation, he said.

Zhai also praised Moussa's contribution to promoting relations between China and the Arab world.

Moussa appreciated China's stance on the situation in the Mideast. He said he will continue communicating with China on regional issues and will continue his efforts to promote relations between China and the Arab world.

During his stay in Egypt, Zhai also met with Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Yahya Jamal and Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby.

Zhai said during the meeting that China and Egypt enjoy a long  friendship, trusting each other in political issues, having created a mutually beneficial, win-win atmosphere in economic development, and having cooperated in international issues.

China cherishes its friendship with Egypt, and sincerely wishes stability and development will be realized in Egypt, he said, adding that no matter how the situation changes, China will always want to develop its strategic cooperation relationship with Egypt.

Zhai also expressed his gratitude for Egypt's help and cooperation in China's efforts to bring back Chinese citizens from Egypt and Libya.

In turn, Jamal and Elaraby briefed Zhai on Egypt's current situation. They said that developing diplomatic relations with China is one of Egypt's established policies, and won't change.

The Egyptian side also praised China's stance on Mideast issues, and hoped that Egypt could learn from China's development experience. Moreover, the Egyptian delegates said Egypt is willing to promote its ties with China in a new era.

Zhai is visiting Egypt from March 10 to 11.

HONG KONG, March 11  -- Hong Kong stocks went down 365. 11 points, or 1.55 percent, to close at 23,249.78 on Friday.
Turnover totaled 78.79 billion HK dollars (about 10.11 billion U.S. dollars) compared with Thursday's 71.42 billion HK dollars (1 U.S. dollar equals 7.791 HK dollars).(Xinhua/sp)

VIENTIANE, March 11  -- Laos is preparing for the upcoming 9th National Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, the most significant event in the nation's political calendar, which will open here on March 17.

Speaking at a press conference in Laos' capital of Vientiane on Friday, Lao Deputy Head of the Committee for External Relations of the Party Central Committee Hiem Phommachan noted that the congress is the first of the new decade, and the documents to be presented to senior party cadres have been drafted with contribution from all social strata of the Lao multi-ethnic people, on the basis of cohesive unity among the Party and people.

The 9th National Party Congress of Lao PDR will be held under the theme of enhancing the leadership role and capacity of the Party, taking pro-active steps for the realization of the Party's Renovation Policy based on lifting the country from its position on the UN list of the world's least developed countries by 2020 and creating primary conditions for the progress of socialism.

Hiem listed the achievements of the party as consistently embracing Marxist-Leninism as the basis for its ideology, upholding national development orientation towards socialism, continuing to determine economic development as a central duty and social and human resource development as major tasks, gradually building the Lao People's Democratic Republic as a State governed by the rule of law, promoting democracy and social equality, and sustainably protecting the environment.

He said the party will pursue and consistently implement its foreign policy of peace, national independence, friendship and cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, non- interference in internal affairs, equality and reciprocal benefits, contributing to peace and cooperation for development in the region and the world over.

During the congress, which takes place every five years, three key matters will be tabled; the Political Report of the 8th Party Central Committee, the amended and supplemented Party Statute, and the election of the 9th Central Committee for the term 2011- 2016, Laos's supreme leadership organ.

Hiem noted to all friendly parties that while foreign political delegations were not invited to attend the Congress, Laos remains strongly willing to strengthen relations and cooperation with all political Parties around the world.

The congress is scheduled to run from March 17 to March 21 in Vientiane.(Xinhua/sp)

JAKARTA, March 11  -- Flash floods on Thursday evening killed nine people and swept away 13 others, and seriously damaged 160 houses in Pidie district of Aceh in northern tip of Sumatra island, local disaster management agency official said on Friday.

The floods took place at about 21:30 a.m. Jakarta time (1430 GMT) at the district located at the slope of a mountain in Aceh, Said Ibnu Sa'dan head of operational unit of the agency in Aceh.   "There were rains at the mountain, then huge amount of waters came down and hit the houses at the slope. Nine people were killed and 12 or 13 others went missing," he told Xinhua by phone from Aceh.

Rescue for the 13 missing persons have been underway, involving rescue officers and local communities, he said.

The disaster had forced hundreds of people left their home and taken shelters, said Sa'dan. Local authorities built makeshift tents and posts to help the evacuees. Logistic and medicine have been provided by the local government for the internally displaced persons, he said.

"We will build some makeshift tents for the evacuees whom we predict are about hundreds, and to set up posts to provide logistic and medicine,"he said.

Extreme weather is forecast to still happen this year in Indonesia. Lacking of forest-covered areas has been blamed for the frequent floods and landslides in Indonesia, which has been struggled to address deforestation by planting more than one billion trees recently.(Xinhua/sp)

NEW DELHI, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Police have stepped up Indian President Pratibha Patil's security following a powerful bomb explosion near the Governor's House in the northeastern state of Manipur, where she is currently staying on a two-day visit, said police Friday.
The explosion took place at 23:00 p.m. Thursday night, some two km from the state Governor's House. Preliminary probe has revealed that the bomb was planted by local militants.
The Indian President is on a two-day tour of Manipur and part of her itinerary include the inauguration of a technology park in state capital Imphal.

BANGKOK, March 11-- Thai armed force chiefs have no thoughts at all of staging a military coup and therefore investors in the capital market should not worry about it, Deputy Prime Minister for security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban said on Friday.

Suthep said the recent meeting between the prime minister, himself, army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha and other top brass on Thursday was just about collating information about the crackdown on red-shirt protesters last May for use during the censure debate, Bangkok Post online reported.

The deputy premier said he could guarantee that nothing would happen during the no-confidence debate next week.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier declared his plan on House dissolution, insisting that the general election would surely be held before the end of June.  

"I do believe that Thai stocks will not fall as there will be no coup. Investors should feel comfortable," Bangkok Post online quoted Suthep as saying.

Asked whether Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva could make known the exact date of the general election after his meeting with the Election Commission (EC) this afternoon, Suthep said that the decision rests with the prime minister.

"If the EC is ready for an election, the prime minister will know best when he can dissolve the House of Representatives and call an early poll," said Suthep.

Abhisit earlier said during his weekly television program that he will consult with the EC, about a possible House dissolution date, to pave the way for the next general election.(Xinhua/sp)

KABUL, March 11  -- The Afghan National Security Forces and NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces captured an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or IMU military leader and detained several suspected insurgents during an operation in Mazar- e Sharif district, Balkh province Thursday.

The leader commanded a foreign fighter force and is involved in the recruitment and training of suicide bombers. He was associated with several members of the Taliban and IMU leadership throughout Balkh, Konduz, Baghlan, and Takhar provinces.

Coalition leaders spoke directly with Afghan government officials about this imminent suicide threat that could impact the celebrations of the Afghan new year.

Intelligence reports indicated that the insurgent leader was in the city of Mazar-e Sharif to plan and conduct a suicide attack in the city. Because of this, Afghan and coalition forces arrived and surrounded the compound to arrest the criminal.  

According to a statement released by the ISAF, security forces advanced on the compound and issued a call out for all residents to exit the building. Upon exiting the residence, the IMU leader identified himself to security forces and was detained. Several additional suspected insurgents were detained after initial questioning at the scene for their involvement in insurgent activity.

The IMU, which was set up in the 1990s and aims to create an Islamic state in Central Asia, is blamed for several explosions and kidnappings in Tajikistan. It also fought alongside the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan, but was thought to have been broken by U.S.-led military operations which began in 2001.(Xinhua/sp)

JAKARTA, March 11 -- Indonesia will construct a new parliamentary building which costs 1.16 trillion rupiah (about 132 million U.S. dollars), an official said here on Friday.

Secretary General of the House of Representatives Nining Indra Saleh told a press conference that it was a final decision to construct the building despite protests.

She said the parliament's secretariat has asked the Ministry of Public Works to assess the cost in line with the ministry's standard.

Saleh said that the tender process starting next Monday would be as transparent as possible.(Xinhua/sp)