Davao-Bitung Connectivity Concrete Partnership of BIMP-EAGA, Says: Minister

President Joko Widodo and Preident Rodrigo Duterte launch the new RoRo ferry services conneting Davao and Bitung.

Jakarta, 4 Sya’ban 1438/1 May 2017 (MINA) – Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said, the Davao-Bitung connectivity has been a concrete realization of partnership among BIMP-East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA) member countries.

The minister made her statement on the sidelines of the 30th ASEAN Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila on Saturday, also attended by President Joko Widodo.

During the summit, the President has also attended ASEAN subregional cooperation summits namely the 12th Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) summit and the 10th Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT).

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Retno who accompanied President Jokowi at the two subregional summits said, connectivity has been part of concrete cooperation among BIMP-EAGA countries.

“The launching of Ro-ro routing Davao-General Santos-Bitung is a concrete implementation of BIMP-EAGA cooperation,” Retno said.

The connectivity would also support the equalization process of member countries that involve local administrations.

“This would synergize central and local governments. This is really a concrete cooperation,” she added.

The BIMP-EAGA summit, attended by Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, has agreed on BIMP-EAGA Vision (BEV) document 2025.

The document, Retno said, would become a guideline for BIMP-EAGA cooperation through 2025. BIMP-EAGA would become a building block for enhancement of ASEAN cooperation and to keep ASEAN relevant.

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“Because this cooperation is so close with people in bordering areas, therefore this building block would support ASEAN cooperation, including in the context of ASEAN Community,” she said.

Higher economic growth

The minister has cited President Jokowi as saying that the BEV 2025 launching would encourage investment in the two economic corridors, the West Borneo and the Greater Sulu-Sulawesi Economic Corridor.

Indonesia has included 16 infrastructure projects in the documents among others road constructions in Tanjung Selor, Pontianak, Entikong, Manado-Bitung, Balikpapan-Samarinda; railway constructions in Makassar-Pare-pare; port constructions in Manado, Bitung, Makassar; international terminal construction in West Kalimantan; and power generator construction in North Kalimantan.

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“We saw this cooperation is very potential. Because economic growth in these regions has recorded at 6.4 percent per year at the average, higher than the average growth in ASEAN at 4.7 percent,” she said. (T/RS5/RS!)

Mi’raj Ilamic News Agency (MINA)