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The 42nd ASEAN Economic Ministers’
Meeting (AEM-42), the 4th ASEAN Economic Council Meeting and other
related meetings began in the central city of Da Nang on August 25.
Attending the meetings are the General Secretary
of ASEAN Surin Pitsuwan, and economic ministers from ten ASEAN countries
plus their partners, including China, the Republic of Korea,
Japan, the EU, India, Russia , Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen
Tan Dung stated that 2010 is a transitional year in the process of
building the ASEAN Community with its three main pillars of
politics-security, economics and socio-culture, and the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC) has seen several important developments.
“The AEC’s commitment to integration and key economic cooperation
programmes has step by step become a reality. A common market and a
united economic bloc have been formed, based on the harmonising of
domestic trade regulations and an increased ability to regulate
macroeconomic policies amongst ASEAN member states,” he said.
The creation of the AEC has reflected ASEAN’s strongest and most
consistent commitment to regional economic integration so far, he added.
According to PM Dung, the growth of ASEAN over
the past few years has been helped by the successful linking up of
regional economies. An ASEAN free trade area (FTA) on goods, services
and investment has also been firmly shaped.
Several major cooperation programmes such as the ASEAN one-stop-shop
customs mechanism and the programme to facilitate trade, services and
investment have ushered in the prospect of a clear and united ASEAN
business environment.
In addition, an overall plan
to connect ASEAN countries together, that the association is currently
putting together, will support efforts to create deeper and wider ASEAN
economic links by enhancing the region’s transport infrastructure,
telecoms, information technology, institutions and exchanges between the
regions peoples. This will lay the foundations for expanding
connectivity throughout the whole East Asian region with ASEAN at the
centre.
PM Dung said that during its integration
into the global economy, ASEAN has created a number of close ties by
setting up FTAs with its partners and to date, the bloc has almost
completed establishing a network of FTA zones that includes 16 East
Asian nations, with the AEC at its core.
He went
on to add that the implementing of the Chieng Mai Initiative on
Multilateralisation (CMIM) Agreement and the establishment of the ASEAN
credit and investment insurance fund will contribute to the region’s
financial stability, economic recovery and ensure a steady growth.
The PM said that ASEAN has seen many important successes but in the
context of fluctuating regional and global economies, the bloc needs to
reach a consensus towards a common direction, which is based on
consistent principles that will benefit the whole community.
He suggested that the meetings focus on seeking out practical and
creative measures to enable the plans on Building the AEC to be carried
out by 2015.
PM Dung noted that ASEAN should
pursue balanced and sustainable development policies, while ensuring the
harmonious combination of economic growth objectives and a stable macro
economy, social development and effective responses to global
challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, epidemics and
economic instability.
The association should also
strengthen its existing economic cooperation framework with its partners
to promote economic linkages and create the foundation for a wider
regional structure with ASEAN playing a “central role”, he said.
The bloc is urged to pay attention to more specific and far reaching
measures to speed up the narrowing of the development gap between
regional countries and areas.
Vietnam ’s
government leader said he hoped that at these meetings, the economic
ministers from ASEAN and its partner countries will discuss more
effective ways forward and measures that will enable the bloc to reach
its regional integration objectives.
In the spirit
of openness and creativeness, and with each member nation’s vision and
political determination, the meetings will contribute to a successful
ASEAN in 2010 and in the future, he concluded.
Established in 1967, ASEAN currently groups Brunei , Cambodia ,
Indonesia , Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar , the Philippines , Singapore
, Thailand and Vietnam./.
