Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    JAKARTA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Agung Laksono, the newly elected President of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) and Speaker of Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), said Friday that the Indonesian proposal on the creation of a new global financial system had drawn a positive response from participants of the third plenary meeting of the APA.

    "The Indonesian idea has been approved by all participants and is waiting for formulation for inclusion in the list of APA resolutions," the national Antara News Agency quoted him as saying.

    All APA meeting participants had been enthusiastic to build an Asian spirit to face the current global economic crisis, he said, adding that the Asian countries had a big potential to become a new world leader referring to its large population and abundant natural resources.

    To muster their internal strengths immediately to rise from the current crisis, Abdillah Toha, chairman of DPR's Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Board (BKSAP), said Asian countries should be no longer adhere to a world economic system that was in reality brittle and unstable.

    "APA should mobilize the strength of Asian countries and take part in the regulation of the world financial system, and Indonesia will take the initiative to build up Asian economic power," Toha said.

    "Most of the world's foreign exchange reserves is in the hands of Asian countries. There is 3 trillion U.S. dollars in Asia. But the amount is not circulated evenly in the Asian region," Toha said, adding that part of the foreign exchange reserves in Asia was circulated outside the region, while trade and investment relations among Asian countries were still weak.