Australia will implement a $50 million initiative over the next
three years to assist economies in the region affected by the financial
crisis.
The Economic and Financial Management Initiative will help APEC members
take practical measures to strengthen their economic and financial
management. Improved economic governance, and in particular strong
supervisory and prudential institutions will b vital to achieving
a return to sustainable growth.
Our aid will be target on priority areas identified in an APEC economic
governance survey sponsored by Australia. Examples include training
of central bank officials and technical assistance for prudential
supervision programmes. The initiative will cover programmes in China,
Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea and
Papua New Guinea.
The initiative represents a further significant Australian contribution
to overcoming the economic difficulties in our region. It builds on
our contributions to IMF-sponsored packages for Korea, Thailand and
Indonesia and the substantial resources we have made available through
our development cooperation programme.
The initiative underlines Australia's long-term commitment to
the region, and the clear economic and security interest we have in
an early return to growth in East Asia.
The package represents new programmes which will be funded from within
the existing aid budget.
16 November 1998