On behalf of the Southeast Asia and Pacific Department of the Fund, I welcome you to
this conference on macroeconomic issues facing ASEAN countries, which the IMF is
co-sponsoring with Bank Indonesia. With the wide range of distinguished speakers and
participants from within and outside the region, we can expect to learn much during the
coming two days.
We are honored that Minister Mar'ie Muhammad of Indonesia has kindly agreed to
open the conference, in the presence of ministers and governors from other ASEAN
countries. Mr. Camdessus will then give a keynote address on the issues and challenges
facing ASEAN countries. The afternoon session will focus on savings, investment, and
current account issues, and features an address by Secretary de Ocampo of the Philippines.
At the start of the second day, Governor Djiwandono will give an opening address on
monetary policy, financial liberalization, and capital market development. This session will
consider the roles of monetary and exchange rate policies in containing demand pressures,
and the macroeconomic implications of rapid financial market liberalization. In the final
session, a roundtable of speakers and panelists will look to the future, centering on the
changing role of the ASEAN countries in the global economy and the prospects for sustaining
growth over the medium term. In each session, there will be an opportunity for participation
and questions from the floor.
A number of papers have been prepared for each session by Fund staff and distinguished
academics. I should stress that these are to be considered work in progress, and that the views
expressed in them are those of the authors, and not necessarily of Bank Indonesia or of the
International Monetary Fund.
In conclusion, I take this opportunity to thank Bank Indonesia for agreeing to co-host
this conference, and for the outstanding hospitality it is providing to all of us. I should also
like to thank the Government of Japan, whose generous grant under the Japan Administered
Account provided to the IMF has helped make the conference possible.
Kunio Saito Director Southeast Asia and Pacific Department International Monetary Fund
