"Many things have happened during the past years starting from security instability to global financial crisis. The dynamic situation in the world nowadays should make us aware that we need to strengthen cooperation and turn challenges into opportunities," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Friday at the opening ceremony of the 14th ASEAN+3 Meeting in Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC).
Meanwhile, China`s Premier Wen Jiabao who attended the meeting said ASEAN+3 countries need to take stronger measures to enhance cooperation, increase internal growth momentum and deepen cooperation to improve the region`s ways to defeat global crisis.
During the Friday meeting led by President Yudhoyono, Premier Wen suggested that ASEAN+3 countries accelerate the liberalization of trade between them, bring the financial and monetary cooperation in the region to higher level.
Wen also emphasized the need for ASEAN+3 countries to carry out research in new areas settlement of new regional trade in local currency and seek better way to reduce time and cost of trade and mitigate the impact of financial crisis in the region.
"We must also actively promote the building of regional financial safety net and improve East Asia capacity to guard against financial risk," he added.
Meanwhile, the South Korea`s President Lee Myung Bak on his speech at the Friday meeting expressed concern that the crisis happening in some European countries and the United States might give negative impacts to the ASEAN+3 countries.
"It is important that we take steps to strengthen financial safety net. I hope the cooperation under the Chiangmai Initiative will be stregthened in the future," he said, adding that an ASEAN Plus Three macro-economic research office had been set up in Singapore to monitor the economic situation in member states.
(T.A051/HAJM/S012)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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