NEW INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE MUST BE BASED ON COOPERATION

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 (Bernama) -- The process of moulding the new
international financial architecture must be premised on significant
consultation and cooperation, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said.

This, he said, would ensure greater ownership and that responsibility was
accorded to developing countries, including Asia.

To this end, Asian economies are continuing with their economic and
financial reforms, he said at the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions
Forum. Also present was Bank Negara (central bank) Governor Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

Najib said while there were diversity in the levels of economic
structures and development, Asia shared a common desire to reinvent and adapt
the economies so as to prosper amidst a backdrop of changing environment.

Greater stability in financial architecture would in turn reinforce the
process of integration, especially in Asia, as it ensures economies can
trade and invest across borders in a more stable environment, said Najib.

To-date, substantial progress has been made in terms of establishing
arrangements for short-term financing, surveillance and policy dialogue.

"Most visibly these efforts have been borne through the recently
mutlilateralised Chiang Mai Initiative, where a regional self-help mechanism
through the pooling of our reserves was established," he said.

The initiative will ensure the contagion arising from the financial crisis
will be minimised and Asian countries can turn to each other to overcome short
term balance of payment difficulties, said Najib, who is also Finance Minister.

Under the Asean+3 forum, which encompasses the 10 Asean members along with
China, Korea and Japan, the finance ministers and central bank governors meet
regularly to intensify monetary and financial cooperation in the region.

There are indeed many forums that provide Asian leaders with the opportunity
to engage both politically and economically with the rest of the world.

Inter-regionally, Asia interacts closely with other regions such as Europe
under the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and with North and South America, under the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

"While there may be overlaps in engagements, they provide avenues to create
better understanding on issues that confront Asia, particularly in the shifting
economic and financial order.

"The engagements with the international community also allow for greater
appreciation of Asia's diversity and highlights that solutions based on the
template of few economies may not be transposed across all of Asia," he added.

-- BERNAMA