Asean creates 'Community' to enable free movement of trade, capital and professionals
Agreement signed seeks to harmonise transport, communications and electronic transactions as well as enable engineers, architects, nurses, doctors, dentists, accountants, surveyors and tourism professionals to move easily between nations.
Southeast Asian nations on Sunday established a formal community that attempts to create freer movement of trade and capital in an area of 625 million people with a combined economic output of $2.6 trillion.
The Community declaration was signed by leaders of the 10- member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur, this year’s host of the group’s annual summit.
The ASEAN Community includes a political, security and socio-cultural dimension in a region with governments ranging from communist in Vietnam and quasi-military in Myanmar to the kingdom of Brunei and the boisterous democracy of the Philippines.
But it is the economic community that offers the most concrete opportunities for integration in a region whose combined gross domestic product (GDP) would make it the world’s seventh-largest economy.
“In practice, we have virtually eliminated tariff barriers between us,” said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the summit host. “Now we have to assure freer movements and removal of barriers that hinder growth and investment.”
The countries aim to harmonise economic strategies, recognise each other’s professional qualifications, and consult more closely on macroeconomic and financial policies.