Asean ministers’ meet to be reset due to SARS

The ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting, scheduled to be held in Manila on April 21-26, is likely to be postponed as nations in the region have restricted non-essential travel due to the threat of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Philippine organizers of the ministerial meeting said yesterday that preparatory meetings continue to be held even as a number of participants have sent feelers that they would not be attending the conference for fear of aggravating the SARS threat.

A source privy to the on-going preparations said Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia have floated the idea of postponing the meeting until the SARS threat has been cleared.

The source said the ministerial meeting would have assembled top financial officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The source said no official decision has been made so far but the meeting is very likely to be postponed to a later date.

SARS is a serious flu-like illness caused by a virus related to the common cold. Although the mortality rate is low, the disease is incurable and potentially fatal.

Health officials throughout the region have warned that regional conferences and meetings should be either cancelled or postponed until the threat of the disease has been eliminated to avoid further spread.