ASEAN officials agree on common goal

The protocols are to amend ASEAN Economic Agreements Related to Trade in Goods and the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement.

During the two-hour event, participants specified orientations for economic cooperation in 2013 to realise the goal of building the AEC by 2015, and discussed initiatives on improving ASEAN competitiveness and connectivity with partners by building a business network and mechanisms to facilitate small-and medium-sized enterprises.

They also considered the roadmap for negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Protocol (RCEP), which manifests ASEAN’s central and leading role in establishing a regional economic structure.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu said the RCEP negotiations are expected to start this year and conclude before 2016, creating the world’s largest free trade area that encompasses 50 percent of global population and 30 percent of global gross domestic product.

Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy, Deputy Head of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said ASEAN needs to streamline trade, services, investment and transport to realise the AEC Blueprint.

Regarding customs procedures, ASEAN member nations devised a joint customs strategy for the 2011-2015 period and are striving to implement a one-door mechanism, making it easier for regional countries to transmit information via an electronic network.

The association has implemented self-certification for the origin of products on a pilot basis, including electricity, electronics, pharmaceuticals, farm produce and automobiles, gradually building a coordinated mechanism among the bloc in this field.

ASEAN nations worked out a joint management mechanism on cosmetics, electricity and electronics, and are building a similar system for medical equipment, traditional medicine and nutrition supplements.

An action plan for the 2011–2015 period was also drawn.

Aung Naing Oo, who is leading the Myanmar delegation, said due to great differences in economic development between the group of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam and the rest of ASEAN, the region must work together to bridge the development gap, which is a challenge in the establishment of the AEC by 2015.

A meeting  on ASEAN-EU investment and trade opportunities was organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on the same day as part of the third ASEAN-EU Business Summit.

Addressing the event, VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said ASEAN is a dynamic economic region with average annual growth of 5.5 percent. It has rising purchasing power and a higher role in the international arena, he added.

The two regions have agreed to boost economic links for sustainable growth. The businesses are ready to thrive in fields of their strength and high demand like footwear, agro-fishery, human resource development, clean energy and infrastructure, Loc said.

A Myanmar representative introduced to international investors promising fields like transport infrastructure, sea ports, roads and trans-national transport, especially in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

Participants also pointed out shortcomings in ASEAN, like the economic development gap among member nations, differences in environment, and laws on investment and trade, especially taxation, customs, economic and technology potential, and human resource quality.

They suggested governments promptly negotiate a suitable cooperation mechanism and establish a free trade area between the two regions.