Matt Brennan
Question:56 Mr. M. Brennan asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, which are being made to assist exporters to the ASEAN countries. [10809/95]
Written Answers. - Exports to ASEAN Countries.
David Andrews
Question:168 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, which are being made to assist exporters to the ASEAN countries. [10932/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 168 together.
Exports to the ASEAN region have shown strong growth in recent years, rising from a total of £135 million in 1992 to £177 million in 1993 and £215 million for the period January-September 1994. An Bord Tráchtála has a strong presence in the region with full time offices in the key markets of Singapore and Malaysia as well as trade consultants in the Philippines and Thailand. An Bord Tráchtála's objective for 1995 is to achieve growth of 20 per cent for indigenous exports, concentrating on services such as consultancy, aviation, healthcare, education and training which are already an important component of our foreign earnings in this region.
As part of our ongoing strategy to deepen our ties with the region and in order to boost An Bord Tráchtála's efforts on the ground I will be leading a trade mission to Malaysia later this month comprising of 32 companies from a wide range of sectors. Our export promotion efforts should be further enhanced by the opening later this year of an embassy in Kuala Lumpur.