103. BIMP-EAGA also continues to be confronted with broader economic and
development challenges which affect and is affected by connectivity issues, most of which
have persisted since its inception in 1994. Some of the more pressing challenges are: (i)
continued dependence on primary resource-based economic activities and little sub-regional
investment flows in agro-industry which is the BIMP-EAGA focus; (ii) weak private sector
with equally weak capacity to capitalise on opportunities; (iii) high incidence of poverty in
the sub-region; and, (iv) lack of vital infrastructure particularly in the Indonesia and
Philippines components of EAGA which are major bottleneck to private sector investments.
These broader development challenges faced by the BIMP-EAGA sub-regional initiative are
described in detail in Appendix 2.3.