Asean econ leaders to assess FTAs

ECONOMIC leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will assess the implementation of the free-trade agreements (FTAs) signed with dialogue partners like China, Japan, South Korea, India and Australia-New Zealand to align trade policies in preparation for the establishment of a single market economy by 2015.

Nguyen Cam Tu, Vietnam’s deputy minister of Industry and Trade, said the Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting taking place in Da Nang next week would be crucial in the realization of the goals of the Asean Economic Pillar in 2010.

Asean, which groups the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Burma/Myanmar and Brunei, aims to establish a single market economy by 2015 to facilitate trade and investments in the region.

The economic pillar aims to shift the economic structure of member-countries from competing to complementing each other to establish a strong and resilient regional bloc.

The August 22-to-27 meeting will gather economic ministers from 10 Asean member-countries and eight dialogue partners—China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, the European Union (EU) and Russia—as well as business leaders and research think tanks.

Vietnam is host of Asean meetings this year. Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang will chair AEM meetings in Da Nang.

Under the theme “AEC: A Community for Dynamic and Sustainable Growth,” the AEM-42 affirms Asean’s commitments toward both economic growth and a balanced, stable and sustainable development. The theme also matches with Asean 2010 theme of “Toward the Asean Community: From Vision to Action,” and Asean Leaders’ Statement on Sustained Recovery and Development proposed by Vietnam at the 16th Asean Summit in April this year in Hanoi.

Tu said the economic ministers’ meeting “will provide a good opportunity for Asean economic leaders to discuss specific measures to promote economic cooperation toward the establishment of the Asean Economic Community [AEC] by 2015.”

“On this occasion, Asean and dialogue partners’ economic ministers will assess the implementation of free-trade agreements, discuss measures to speed up negotiations of new trade agreements and define future cooperation between Asean and its dialogue partners in the following years,” said Tu in a statement.

As host of the Asean meetings for 2010, Vietnam has proposed some initiatives for cooperation, such as expanding dialogues with businesses in regional policymaking process. Vietnam also proposed the holding of the first consultation with economic ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) with the aim of narrowing the development gap between CLMV and other faster developed Asean nations.

Asean members, such as Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, have been negotiating bilateral FTAs with the EU that aims to increase access of Asean products into the rich European markets.

The EU and Asean have abandoned negotiations for a comprehensive FTA which started in 2007 after they failed to reconcile policy differences, including issues on Burma/Myanmar, which the EU tagged as a rogue Asean state, due to rampant rights atrocities committed by Burma’s junta.

Asean members are also involved in the negotiations for a free-trade deal for members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.

The regional bloc has also tasked a study group to explore a possible free-trade agreement with rich Arab nations under the Gulf Cooperation Council (members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait). –Estrella Torres / Reporter, Businessmirror