Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area

The Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is a cooperation initiative established in 1994 to spur development in remote and less developed areas in the four participating Southeast Asian countries.[1]

Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area
Logo of Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area
Logo
TypeSubregional economic co-operation
Members
4 Countries
Establishment24 March 1994
Area
• Total
1,600,000 km2 (620,000 sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2020 estimate
• Total
$322.8 billion
Website
https://bimp-eaga.asia/

It is home to ecologically important areas. The Heart of Borneo, which straddles Indonesia, Malaysia, and parts of Brunei, is the largest contiguous forest area remaining in Southeast Asia.[2] The Sulu–Sulawesi Seas is a highly biodiverse, globally significant biogeographic unit in the Coral Triangle—the center of the world's highest concentration of marine biodiversity.[3][4]

Background

Launched on March 24 in Davao City,[5] BIMP-EAGA was formed by Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to generate balanced and inclusive growth. As a sub-region of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, it aims to contribute to regional economic integration in the ASEAN Economic Community.

BIMP-EAGA is an intergovernmental economic cooperation program that is envisioned to promote private sector-led and market-driven growth. The governments address the basic problems of the growth area, such as lack of adequate transport, power, and ICT infrastructure, to pave the way for private sector investments and activities. They fill the infrastructure gaps, provide the policy and regulatory environment for public-private partnerships in relevant projects, and resolve such issues as transport facilitation, cross-border trade facilitation, elimination of non-tariff barriers and measures, and streamlining of customs, immigration, quarantine, and security rules, regulations and procedures.[6][7]

Geography

The sub-region covers the entire sultanate of Brunei Darussalam; the provinces of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and West Papua of Indonesia; the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan in Malaysia; and the island of Mindanao and the province of Palawan in the Philippines.[8][9][10] These areas are geographically far from the national capitals, yet strategically close to each other. These states and provinces account for over 60% of the land area of the BIMP-EAGA countries; yet they make up less than 20% of their population and 18% of the labor force.[11]

Vision 2025

BIMP-EAGA's Vision 2025,[12] prepared with support from the Asian Development Bank, provides a way forward for members to continue narrowing development gaps, for sustainably managing natural resources, and for promoting stronger connectivity.[13]

It focuses on three main outcomes:  

  • Developing a competitive and “green” manufacturing sector that can add value to production.
  • Creating sustainable, competitive and climate-resilient agriculture and fishing industries.
  • Adopting a multi-country approach to tourism that benefits less developed areas.

Its five strategic pillars are to (1) enhance connectivity, (2) establish the sub-region as Asia's food basket, (3) promote BIMP-EAGA as a premier tourism destination, (4) sustainably manage natural resources, and (5) promote people-to-people connectivity.[14]

Key sectors are transport, trade and investment facilitation, energy, information and communication technology, agriculture and fisheries, tourism, environment, and sociocultural and education sector.

Under Vision 2025, BIMP-EAGA's rolling pipeline of priority infrastructure projects (PIPs) has increased by 65% to 88 (2021) from 57 (2017), with a combined value of $24.23 billion.[15]

Structure

BIMP-EAGA has an institutional structure that facilitates consultations and dialogue between and among the member countries at both national and sub-regional levels.[16]

The BIMP-EAGA Leaders’ Summit, Ministerial Meeting, and Senior Officials’ Meeting provide the overall policies and strategic directions. These are supported by the national secretariats and the BIMP-EAGA Facilitation Center (BIMP-FC), which serves as the sub-regional secretariat.

Clusters and working groups are the operating units that support the strategic pillars by translating the strategic thrusts of each sector into projects.  

The BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BEBC) represents the private sector in BIMP-EAGA. It enjoys a “fifth country” status at Senior Officials Meetings, with its chairman having the same rank as other senior officials during policy discussions.

The Asian Development Bank serves as the BIMP-EAGA Regional Development Advisor.[17]

14th BIMP-EAGA Summit

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakub, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gathered for the 14th BIMP-EAGA Summit, which was held on 28 October 2021 virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

Selected urban centres

 Brunei

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque in Bandar Seri Begawan.

 Indonesia

 Malaysia

A bird's eye view of Kota Kinabalu from Penampang.

 Philippines

Transport connectivity

To become fully integrated, BIMP-EAGA needs an efficient and secure transport network that seamlessly moves goods and people within and across borders. Interconnecting the subregion by land, air, and water also opens livelihood opportunities in rural communities and improve their access to services.

There has been significant progress in enhancing connectivity in the subregion with transport agreements signed since 2007. However, much still needs to be done to create a seamless and safe multimodal transport network.

Selected sources
  • BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025. https://bimp-eaga.asia/documents-and-publications/bimp-eaga-vision-2025
  • Joint Statement from the 14th BIMP-EAGA Summit. https://bimp-eaga.asia/documents-and-publications/joint-statement-14th-bimp-eaga-summit
  • BIMP-EAGA Integration: Issues and Challenges, Association of Development Research and Training Institutes of Asia and the Pacific (1997) ISBN 978-967-9910-47-6
  • Asian Economic Cooperation and Integration: Progress, Prospects and Challenges, Asian Development Bank (2005) ISBN 971-561-549-X

See also

References
  1. "What is BIMP-EAGA?". BIMP-EAGA. 2 December 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  2. "Heart of Borneo". WWF. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  3. "Environment". BIMP-EAGA. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  4. "Coral Triangle Initiative". Coral Triangle Initiative. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  5. "BIMP-EAGA: Turning remote, isolated areas into economic engines". Asian Development Bank. 24 June 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  6. "BIMP-EAGA Leaders Committed To Address Covid-19 Impact, Economic Recovery". BruDirect. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  7. "BIMP-EAGA countries should restore cross-border value chains, says PM Ismail Sabri". Malay Mail. 28 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. "BIMP-EAGA". MinDA. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  9. "The Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)". MFA Brunei. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  10. "Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Indonesia. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  11. "What is BIMP-EAGA? | BIMP-EAGA". bimp-eaga.asia. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  12. "BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025 | BIMP-EAGA". bimp-eaga.asia. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  13. "BIMP-EAGA welcomes Vision 2025 formulation". Borneo Post. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  14. "BIMP-EAGA officials plan concrete projects under Vision 2025". BusinessWorld. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  15. "BIMP-EAGA Leaders: The Pandemic Has Not Deterred Robust Cooperation | BIMP-EAGA". bimp-eaga.asia. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  16. "Structure | BIMP-EAGA". bimp-eaga.asia. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  17. "ADB Working with East ASEAN Nations for a Resilient Recovery". Asian Development Bank. 28 October 2021. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  18. "BIMP-EAGA Leaders: The Pandemic Has Not Deterred Robust Cooperation | BIMP-EAGA". bimp-eaga.asia. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
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