Holy Trinity University
Puerto Princesa City
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Reporter : ARNOLD C. VALDEZ, JR.,
Subject : PA 808 – Regional and
International Governance System
Professor : ARMANDO RODRIGUEZ, Ph.D.
Topic : BIMP-EAGA
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, BRUNIE
Toraja House, Indonesia
Mt. Kinabalu, Malaysia
BIMP-EAGA LOCATION MAP
BACKGROUND
In 1992, then President Fidel V. Ramos of
the Philippines proposed a major economic
initiative in ASEAN: the expansion of economic
cooperation among the border areas of Brunei
Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the
Philippines.
BIMP-EAGA was formally launched on March 24, 1994, in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines.
This proposal met with a favorable response from the leaders of the three other countries, and eventually led to the creation of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area or BIMP-EAGA.
This sub-regional
economic cooperation is
a key strategy of the
participating governments
to promote socio-
economic development in
their less developed and
more remote territories.Rafflesia arnoldii
EAGA is comprised of the following focus
areas:
1. the entire sultanate of Brunei Darussalam;
2. the provinces in Kalimantan, Sulawesi,
Maluku, and Papua in eastern Indonesia;
3. the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the
federal territory of Labuan in Malaysia; and
4. Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines.
VISION, GOALS AND STRATEGIC
OBJECTIVES
Strong Public-Private Partnership
One of BIMP-EAGA’s defining characteristics is the strong partnership between the private and public sectors, with each playing a clearly defined role
Since its inception, BIMP-EAGA
recognized for growth in the sub-region to be
sustainable it must be market-driven and private
sector-led. The private sector is thus considered
as the primary engine for BIMP-EAGA’s
growth.
The role of the public sector is that of facilitator and
enabler. As such, the participating governments are
committed to provide BIMP-EAGA with:
A facilitative framework created by coordinating and
harmonizing public policy to establish a unified business
climate conducive to investment
Adequate physical infrastructure needed to link the
businesses of the subregion and to improve their access to
regional and global markets
An effective commercial infrastructure, by providing
avenues for financing, information, and skills to improve
entrepreneurial capacity and capability.
Organizational and Institutional
Structures
To operationalize the EAGA
cooperation initiative, institutional structures
and cooperation mechanisms were
established both at the country and at the
sub-regional levels.
The BIMP-EAGA Summit
The annual Summit of Leaders is the highest
policy level mechanism of BIMP-EAGA. It is where
the Leaders of the four member countries review
the accomplishments and provide new directives
to enhance cooperation. The Summits clearly
demonstrate that BIMP-EAGA not only has full
political support but also that Leaders are taking
great interest in the developments in the sub-
region.
The Senior Officials Meeting and Ministers Meeting (SOMM)
• At the sub-regional level, the principal
mechanism for consultation among the member
countries is the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM)
and the Ministers Meetings (MM). The SOMM
provides the subregion’s strategic directions and
general policy guidelines, in addition to drawing
the attention of the central governments to the
development requirements of the growth area.
The SOM is held at least twice a year and the
MM takes place once a year.
The Clusters and Working Groups
The core operational mechanism for BIMP-EAGA consists of the four Working Group Clusters representing the sub-region’s priority areas of cooperation. Within each cluster are Working Groups representing the priority sectors for development. Public and private sector organizations participate in both the Clusters and the Working Groups. Together they identify opportunities and constraints to cooperation development; establish the sub region’s Flagship Projects; and formulate action plans to accelerate implementation of the Flagship Projects and improve growth in the sub-region.
Cluster Working Group Lead Country
Transport, Infrastructure, & ICT Development (TIICTD)
• Air Linkages• Sea Linkages• Land Transport• Construction & Construction Materials• Telecommunications & Information Communication Technology
Brunei Darussalam
Natural Resource Development (NRD)
• Agro-Industry• Fisheries Cooperation• Forestry & Environment• Energy & Mineral Resources
Indonesia
Joint Tourism Development (JTD)
Joint Tourism Development Malaysia
SME Development (SMED) Capital Formation & Financial Services Philippines
Customs, Immigration, Quarantine & Security (CIQS)
• Customs Sector• Immigration Sector• Quarantine Sector• Security Sector
Philippines
The National Secretariats
BIMP-EAGA initially had a fully decentralized institutional structure without a central secretariat. To ensure that in-country initiatives were sustained, each member country designated a ministry or government agency to serve as its BIMP-EAGA National Secretariat. The National Secretariats mainly coordinate in-country EAGA activities and ensure that commitments are delivered on a timely basis. The National Secretariats also provide technical and administrative support to their respective Senior Officials and Ministers.
BIMP-EAGA Facilitation Center
• The fully decentralized structure gave BIMP-EAGA the flexibility it needed in its formative stages. However, with the anticipated increase in development projects and the growing interest from a number of external partners, the SOMM agreed to create the BIMP-EAGA Facilitation Center (BIMP-FC).
The BIMP-FC is an important component of the concerted effort to revive the EAGA initiative. BIMP-FC is designed to accelerate cooperation development in BIMP-EAGA by establishing more structured institutional coordination and project facilitation mechanisms. The terms of reference of BIMP-FC include:
• Undertaking, jointly with the private sector,
investment promotion and business networking
activities;
• Establishing and maintaining an information
database;
• Coordinating the promotion of trade-related
events;
• Establishing systems and undertaking
monitoring of project implementation activities; and
• Assisting the private sector in resolving issues
related to the implementation of projects.
• The BIMP-FC is public sector-led central
secretariat. It complements the efforts of the
BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BEBC) in
coordinating trade and investment activities, and
in facilitating the implementation and monitoring
of priority development projects.
• The BIMP-FC also functions as the secretariat
for the SOMM. Originally hosted and funded by
the Federal Government of Malaysia and the
State Government of Sabah, the four member
governments of BIMP-EAGA now jointly fund the
operations of the BIMP-EAGA FC.
• The BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BEBC),
formerly known as the East ASEAN Business
Council, was established on 19 November 1994.
It is the official representative organization of the
private sector in EAGA. In recognition of its
standing as an equal partner in the development
of the subregion, BEBC was accorded “fifth
country” status in 1997.
BIMP EAGA Business Council
The objectives of BIMP-BC are:
• Promote economic development and other business
activities in EAGA;
• Foster closer relationships and economic cooperation
among business organizations in the EAGA;
• Deal with issues of common concern and disseminate
pertinent information;
• Make representations on behalf of the BEBC’s
members with the involved governments and to liaison
between businesses, other economic entities and relevant
governments authorities within EAGA; and
• Advocate for policies, plans, projects and regulatory
changes.
In 2003, BEBC successfully carried out its organizational
restructuring, and is now re-focusing its attention on the
development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
CLUSTERS AND PROJECTS
• Transport, Infrastructure and ICT Development
• Joint Tourism Development
• National Resource Development
• Small and Medium Enterprise Development
• Custom, Immigration & Quarantine and Security Task Force
Key Sectors
• Agro-industry. Major agriculture products include coconut, palm oil, livestock and poultry, and high-value tropical fruits and vegetables. EAGA areas are focusing on expanded production, complementation, processing and export, to supply specialitymarkets such as the halal food trade.
• Fisheries. The subregion is a global center for the production and processing of important marine products, with tuna and seaweedamong its major exports.
Tourism. EAGA is a leading ecotourism destination.
It has pristine rainforests and vast coral reefs, and is
ethnically and culturally diverse. Tourist activities
include visits to cultural sites, as well as diving,
snorkeling, trekking, mountain climbing, game
fishing, and other adventure sports. Twenty-
two World Heritage Sites are in EAGA, eight are in
Indonesia ; five are in Malaysia; six are in the
Philippines.
Transport and Shipping. EAGA is connected by sea
and air to most major cities in Asia. To ensure its
competitiveness, the subregion is in the process of
upgrading its airports and seaports, and
implementing multilateral agreements to facilitate
cross-border movement.
• Energy. Energy resources are abundant
in the subregion. In addition to oil, natural
gas and coal resources, EAGA offers
investment opportunities in the renewable
energy sector, taking advantage of
geothermal, biomass, hydro and wind
power.
TYPE OF GOVERNANCE
As to the Type of Governance, the BIMP-EAGA
can be told that is anchored on the first type of
Governance. Because the this sub-region is focusing
on the promotion of socio-economic development of
less developed and more remote territories in the
regions; the expansion of economic cooperation
among the border areas of Brunei Darussalam,
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The subregion likewise want to close the economic
development gap across and within the EAGA
member countries
• However, the second type of governance may be also applied. Because there are certain issues in the national states level which cannot be controlled or contained by action at the level of national states alone.
• The BIMP-EAGA stresses on the strengthen the Private-Public Sector partnership
Moreover, from the reporter’s point of view, the BIMP-EAGA is a shared type of governance.
• It involve regions participation
• Access to information
• Dialogue before decisions
• Empowering diverse interest
• Religion is not an issue in this sub-region. Considering the fact the Philippines is the only Christian or Catholic country in this organization. What is important here is the strong and weak points of each member/country and must be given attention for the welfare of each people.
IMPLICATION
• The creation of BIMP-EAGA basically intended for the building of strong partnership between the private and public sectors.
• Growth and sustainable must be sustainable and market driven and private sector led.
• The only role of the public sector or government is that facilitator and enabler.
• Thus, the culture of politics has no space as possible.
Recommendations
• Each member/country of the sub-region must do their part for strong partnership.
• Encourage the private sectors’ participation.
Thank You!!
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