Kota Kinabalu: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman has called for more
participation from Asean countries to make the
Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)
initiative a success.

"The success of BIMP-EAGA will not only contribute positively towards
greater Asean integration but will also have a significant impact over
the security and stability of the region," he said.

Musa who is also Finance Minister was speaking to welcome delegates
attending the special meeting of the Asean Senior Officials (SOM), Asean
+ 3, Asean Regional Forum (ARF) SOM and Ad Hoc Consultations Among the
East Asia Summit (EAS) Senior Officials at Pacific Sutera here Friday.

Despite having been conceptualised 12 years ago, the BIMP-EAGA region was
still lacking in terms of availability of supporting infrastructure, both
physical and business infrastructure.

At present, the private sector has not been able to implement
infrastructure projects in the BIMP-EAGA region due mainly to the lack of
available funds. "Much more needs to be done to develop the much-needed
supporting infrastructure projects such as shipping, air linkages and
road and rail networks between key cities and towns in the region," he
said.

He said BIMP-EAGA was set up as a sub-regional initiative intended to
boost trade, tourism and investment within the region with the private
sector identified as the engine of growth and the public sector as
facilitator of business expansion in the region.

As far as Malaysia is concerned, he said there were many advantages in
developing BIMP-EAGA into a dynamic growth area since the region is rich
in natural resources, such as the forest and timber in Kalimantan, Sabah
and Sarawak, oil and gas in Brunei and East Kalimantan, marine resources
and agricultural products in Mindanao, Palawan and North Sulawesi.

Towards this end, Musa took the opportunity to make a sales pitch for
Sabah and BIMP-EAGA region.

"This region is open for business, it offers many possibilities for
business ventures and great potential for development," he said, adding
that the BIMP-EAGA Facilitation Centre had been set up here since October
2003 to facilitate and coordinate the implementation of BIMP-EAGA wide
programmes, projects and activities.

So far, the BIMP-EAGA had international partners like the Northern
Territory of Australia, China, Japan, Asian Development Bank, the German
Technical Cooperation Agency and the Asean Secretariat.

On another note, Musa in assuring that Sabah is a safe place to visit and
called on the delegates to take the opportunity to visit tourist
attraction sites in Sabah such as the Kinabalu Park and Sipadan during
their stay.

"The Malaysian and Sabah governments take security issues seriously and we
will ensure that all visitors, locals and foreign alike are safe in Sabah.
The record speaks for itself," he said.

The Royal Malaysian Navy had also strengthened its presence along the
coast of Sabah and around the various island resorts, including in
Sipadan.

Taken from DAILY EXPRESS NEWS Saturday, 20 May, 2006