Leaders of 16 Asian nations meet in Thailand for talks on economy, disasters, climate change

Leaders of 16 Asian nations meet in Thailand

CHA-AM, Thailand — Leaders of 16 Asian countries gave high priority Sunday to finding a new economic growth model to free half the world’s population from merely serving as producers for the West, the Thai prime minister said.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the leaders gave such a search “the utmost importance” at the annual East Asian Summit, which concluded Sunday. He told a press conference that Asian nations would have to strengthen their domestic markets and further liberalize regional trade.

“The old growth model where, simply put, we have still to rely on consumption in the West for goods and services produced here will no longer serve us in the future,” said Abhisit, who hosted the meeting.

Asian leaders, a conference document said, noted that the region has shown signs of recovery from the global crisis and “regained its pace of economic growth.”

“East Asia could therefore play a crucial role in driving global economic recovery and in reforming the international financial architecture,” it said, noting that the Asian Development Bank recently revised its forecasts for East Asian economic growth from 3.4 to 3.9 percent this year and 6 to 6.4 percent in 2010.

The East Asia Summit followed Saturday meetings of leaders from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations with heads of government from China, Japan and South Korea. Sunday’s expanded talks brought in Australia, New Zealand and India.

The 16 leaders represent almost half the world’s population and more than a third of the global GDP, according to Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

The three-day conference included the launch of Southeast Asia’s first human rights watchdog, and talks on economic integration of ASEAN by the year 2015, disaster management, climate change and military-ruled Myanmar, an ASEAN member widely criticized internationally for its human rights violations.

Abhisit said Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein told other leaders that he welcomed signs of engagement from various regions, a reference to Washington’s recent announcement that it would seek high-level dialogue rather than shunning the junta. Thein Sein also said that he was optimistic that democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, held in detention for 14 years, could contribute to reconciliation.

“ASEAN has always argued that engagement is the right approach. We feel that if everybody takes this approach we would be encouraging Myanmar in her successful implementation of her own roadmap (to democracy),” Abhisit said.

Southeast Asian leaders on Saturday called on Myanmar to conduct free and fair elections next year when the junta has promised to hold the first polls in two decades. Activists criticized the bloc for failing to take a tougher stand against one of the world’s worst human rights offenders.

The conference signed or noted 43 documents, several focused on economic integration.

ASEAN countries have haltingly tried to integrate their economies, and are seeking to eliminate trade barriers within the bloc to bring about a European Union-style grouping by 2015.

“Over the past year we have proved that ASEAN continues to move forward. We have risen to the challenges of the times,” Abhisit said, noting regional cooperation in coping with the global economic crisis, swine flu and several natural disasters in the region.

The next summits have been scheduled for Hanoi in April and October next year, when Vietnam assumes the ASEAN chairmanship.