Experts at the on-going forum on "SARS and Asia's Economy -- Impacts and Policy Recommendations", jointly sponsored by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), agreed that joint efforts were required.

The forum, held in Beijing at a critical time during the SARS outbreak, invited nearly 100 experts, diplomats, entrepreneurs, government officials and representatives with international organizations, for in-depth discussions on the impact of SARS on the Asian economy and appropriate counter-measures.

BFA Secretary-General Long Yongtu said the fight against SARS was in the common interests of all Asian countries.

"People in similar circumstances help each other and try to overcome the difficulty in concert," Long said.

At the special meeting on SARS held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok last month, in which China also participated, leaders all expressed determination to defeat SARS, Long said. They vowed to improve regional and international exchanges of information, policy and experience, according to Long.

Asian countries had achieved considerable progress in fighting against SARS, which was attributable to the unswerving confidence of the leaders and the measures they had adopted, he said.

Ifzal Ali, chief economist of the ADB, said that given the global implications of contagious diseases, governments needed to intensify cooperation and coordination. As well as coming up with common responses to diseases that have already struck such as SARS,there was a particular need for developed countries and more advanced developing countries to devote funds to collaborative anticipatory or proactive research on combating such diseases.

"Much effort is also needed to develop effective policy measures and institutional capacity for preventing, reporting, monitoring and containing all contagious diseases," he added.

He said SARS presented a challenge for regional cooperation andit was important that governments of China and ASEAN countries, by convening a leaders' meeting in Bangkok, demonstrated a proactive and collective effort in strengthening regional cooperation to combat SARS. Additional cooperation would be required.

Secretary-General of ASEAN Ong Keng Yong said SARS had brought ASEAN member countries closer and made them more resolute in their efforts to intensify regional and international cooperation and to help every ASEAN member country cope with the situation.

Singaporean Ambassador to China, Chin Siat Yoon, said SARS had no boundaries, so regional cooperation should play a significant role. A cooperative framework should be established to continue regional cooperation in economic, commercial, tourist, trading, commodities circulation and other fields.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2003)