SINGAPORE Singapore President S.R. Nathan pressed Southeast Asian nations Wednesday to overcome fears about globalization, saying it was the "ultimate driver" to easing poverty in the region.

Social improvement would come from economic development "although that inevitably brings with it some degree of social change and sometimes chaos and pain," he told an ASEAN social welfare ministers meeting.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) welds together 10 economies ranging from affluent Singapore to struggling nations such as Cambodia and Laos.

According to AFP, critics within the grouping argue that globalization will make the poor nations poorer, but Nathan told the opening of the two-day conference that a balance had to be found.

"It would be difficult to envisage significant alleviation of poverty if we merely focused our efforts on ensuring social stability, without being willing to compete in the global economic race," he said.

"But this is by no means an easy balance to strike, as the fear of social disruptions and upheavals brought about by the relentless forces of globalization and technology is very real."

Nathan said the challenge facing ASEAN was to preserve social order and cohesion without shutting out the benefits that globalization and technology.

"Put simply, it is to accept the logic that the ultimate driver for social development is really economic development."

Tech-savvy Singapore has repeatedly urged ASEAN to embrace the new economy and the information technology age, and Nathan said social and economic policy making could not be divorced.

He suggested educating the public on the totality of the problem to help people understand that sacrifices were necessary to secure long-term prosperity.

Strengthening family and community bonds should also be considered, he said.

"A strong family would be the best counterbalance to many of our social problems such as drug addiction, youth delinquency and other social evils."

"These and other measures are really part of building up our social order to increase our societies' capacity to withstand societal changes and challenges."

Singapore's Community Development Minister Abdullah Tarmugi said the ASEAN welfare ministers meeting, the first since 1993, would focus on strengthening co-operation amongst the 10 member countries.