East Asia and Latin America should shore up their cooperation and exchanges across the Pacific not only in politics and economics, but also in social areas, according to a report compiled by the Japanese government.

The report, which was made available Sunday to The Japan Times, will be submitted to the first ministerial meeting of the 27-nation East Asia-Latin America Forum scheduled for the end of this month in Santiago.

The report cites seven specific areas for cooperation and exchanges between East Asia and Latin America:

* Social issues and social programs * New development strategy * Trade, investment and inter-regional cooperation * Cultural exchange and mutual understanding * Environmental protection * Education, science and technology * National and international governance.

The report recommends establishing several EALAF working groups composed of academics, business leaders and government officials to discuss specific ways to increase cooperation and exchange in the seven areas.

The report also proposes the establishment of the East Asia-Latin America Cultural Foundation to promote cultural ties among the EALAF member countries. It also proposes the building of a closer network of relevant think tanks from the two regions to enable EALAF leaders to "seek the insight and advice of policy-oriented scholars."

EALAF, originally proposed by Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong during a visit to Chile in September 1998, held its inaugural meeting in Singapore in September 1999 at the senior working level. The two-day ministerial talks in Santiago will open on March 29.

The 27 EALAF counties include all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Argentina. ASEAN comprises Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

EALAF is an Asian-Latin American version of the 25-nation Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, which was inaugurated, also on a Singaporean initiative, in 1996.

Unlike the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which was launched in 1989 and has fallen under the sway of the United States, both ASEM and EALAF exclude the U.S. Although Mexico, Chile and Peru are APEC members, Brazil and Argentina are not.

In its first specific initiative in getting the still embryonic -- but potentially gargantuan -- cooperation forum of East Asian and Latin American countries to grow smoothly, Japan hosted and chaired a two-day symposium of private-sector experts from the two regions last month.

The symposium discussed various common issues facing the two regions and explored ways to promote trans-Pacific cooperation in various areas. Based on discussions at the Symposium for Intellectuals from East Asia and Latin America, Japan has compiled the report to be submitted to the upcoming EALAF ministerial meeting.

The report says,"Although the interactions between East Asia and Latin America started long before the beginning of the 20th century, an organic link has been virtually non-existent between the two regions.

The East Asian-Latin American relationship has been sometimes described as a "missing link," the report says. "Their ties have been less than what we can expect in light of their potentials as two growth centers of the world. There lies broad room for cooperation for the two regions endowed with a large population and rich cultural diversities."

The 1997-1998 Asian financial and economic crisis spread to Brazil and other Latin American countries. Many developing countries in both regions also face the daunting task of addressing the hardships of socially disadvantaged citizens, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, worsening internal security conditions, and other social issues stemming from globalization.

Regarding social issues and programs, the report says,"The (ongoing) process of globalization in economic areas inevitably sharpens domestic and international competition among the market players and widens the gap between the winners and the losers.

"One of the challenges is to examine the consequent social problems and explore the best solutions for social security and poverty reduction," it says.

The report also stresses the need for a new development strategy. "Globalization has been accelerated by liberalization, deregulation and a rapid development of transport and communication technologies for the past 20 years.

"In this context, we face a new challenge of strengthening competitiveness of respective economies. All nations need to cope with the so-called digital-divide problem, both on the national and international level, to have a fair and sustainable development," the report says.

While noting that it is "premature" to talk about the economic integration between East Asia and Latin America, the report emphasizes the need for the two regions to have a better understanding of each other's movements toward regional and bilateral integration.

"The information gap about macro-economic conditions, trade and investment that exists between the two regions should be addressed through comparative analysis. This task is a prerequisite for economic cooperation between the two regions," it says.

On the environment, the report says that the EALAF members should pay a special attention to El Nino and other phenomena that affect both sides of the Pacific and cause tragic natural disasters and sufferings.

On education, science and technology, the report points out that education is considered the key to ensuring the sustainable and durable development of all nations. "East Asia and Latin America can learn from each other by examining respective strategies for human resource development for the new age of international competition," it says.

"They also should explore means to expand scientific and technological exchanges to keep pace with the fast advancement of science and technology in the world," the report says.