ASEAN Plans Economic Integration By 2015
Josephine Roque - All Headline News Staff Writer Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (AHN) - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is planning in five years to start the efforts to integrate economies into a European-style group. The group has debated ways to expedite the process of building a regional economic community from 2020 to 2015. A charter for the economic integration of ASEAN is being drafted and may be ready by the time Singapore hosts regional heads of state next year, Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo said, according to the AP. "The proposal for the acceleration would be presented to leaders meeting in the Philippines at the end of this year," Yeo added. The establishment of a united ASEAN bloc will facilitate the free flow of goods, services and human resources across the region. Currently, there are no plans to convert to a single currency system. Singapore, the most economically advanced nation in the bloc, and Thailand, promoted the acceleration, Yeo told the AP. "The others are not averse to it, but that's for the leaders to decide," Yeo said. "It's very important that we integrate ASEAN because the world is changing rapidly... No one stands still." The group's push for an economic bloc comes as concerns that powerhouse China and India will stunt the region.
Article © All Headline News - All Rights Reserved
|
