The participants discussed about the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and opportunities the AEC can offer.
Addressing the
meeting, ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh said that more than 90
percent of 506 measures of the AEC have been implemented since the
blueprint on the AEC was approved in 2008.
Regardless of impacts from the economic recession, ASEAN countries have
achieved many economic achievements and have been revised and issued
policies to turn the region into an independent market and production
level with the free flow of goods, services, investments and skilled
workers.
He expressed his belief that the AEC
will be formed as scheduled and the implementation of the AEC measures
send a strong message that principles, frameworks and measures being
implemented will move the region to a real economic community.
Business leaders such as Min Yih Tan, General Director in charge of
the Shell Corporation’s Global Retail and Trade Strategy, Klaus
Landhaeusser, head of the Robert Bosch Corporation’s External Affairs
and Governmental Relation in Southeast Asia shared business experience
with ASEAN countries like selecting partners, training staff and working
with governments for sustainable development.
Delegates at the conference also discussed about the rising competitive
environment in ASEAN as well as enterprise owners’ management in labour,
capital and investment.
The AEC which is formed
late this year comprises ten countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam – with a population of over 600 million and a combined gross
domestic product of more than 2,000 billion USD./.
