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./.