ARMM joins Sabah expo
Manila Bulletin
Wed, Mar 16, 2011 6:35 PM PHT
COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governance has reactivated its role in the Brunei/Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines-East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) activities after more than a decade of lull, with its participation in the four-day trade exhibit of member-nations at the Sabah Trade Center in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
ARMM products and vast economic potentials were showcased in the BIMP-EAGA Expo 2011, which began March 13 and drew potential buyers and investors not only from the four-member economic cooperation group but other neighboring countries.
''The autonomous region's main agricultural products such as banana, pineapple, coconut derivatives, and seaweed, as well as wood and textile handicrafts were displayed in the well-decorated ARMM booth,'' ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo said.
Sinarimbo, who led the 10-member ARMM delegation, said it was the first time ARMM has participated in an international trade expo.
''Buoyed up by our achievements last year within the region, it's now high time we move out into the international arena so that our economic prospects would be strengthened,'' he said.
Sinarimbo added that ARMM's economy has to be integrated into the BIMP-EAGA because ''for both cultural and practical reasons, we cannot afford to neglect the opportunities for trade and tourism that Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia have to offer.''
BIMP-EAGA has a combined population of 550 million, and a gross domestic product (GDP) that is third largest in Asia.
