Asean on way to single market
December 16 2008The Herald (UK)
The Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) yesterday moved to forge an EU-style community, signing a charter that makes the bloc a legal entity and could pave the way towards a single market in seven years.
Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the charter, which was ratified by foreign ministers, gives the group a legal identity for international negotiations and transactions. It also sets out rules for trade, investment, environment and other fields.
Until now, the 10-nation bloc has been little more than a talking shop, forging agreements through consensus and steering away from confrontation.
A key goal of the charter is to set up a single market by 2015 for the vast region of 500 million people, though the global financial crisis and political instability in several member states could derail those plans. The most controversial part of the charter is a proposed human rights body, details of which will be hammered out at a summit in Thailand in February.
Asean, founded during the cold war, consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the charter, which was ratified by foreign ministers, gives the group a legal identity for international negotiations and transactions. It also sets out rules for trade, investment, environment and other fields.
Until now, the 10-nation bloc has been little more than a talking shop, forging agreements through consensus and steering away from confrontation.
A key goal of the charter is to set up a single market by 2015 for the vast region of 500 million people, though the global financial crisis and political instability in several member states could derail those plans. The most controversial part of the charter is a proposed human rights body, details of which will be hammered out at a summit in Thailand in February.
Asean, founded during the cold war, consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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