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Breaking News in the Project Management World
Thursday, November 22, 2007
News affecting projects: ASEAN leaders sign Blueprint for Economic Integration in Singapore
According to the World Bank, Southeast Asian leaders on Tuesday, 20 November signed an 'economic blueprint' aimed at transforming the region into a single market with a unified production base and no tariffs by 2015.
The ASEAN Charter was signed by ASEAN Leaders at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore. This is the first time that ASEAN Member States, after 40 years of regional cooperation, have codified organic Southeast Asian diplomacy, listed key principles and purposes of ASEAN. Foreign Ministers, Members of the Eminent Persons Group, Members of the High Level Task Force, and delegates to the 13th ASEAN Summit witnessed the historic occasion. After the signing, ASEAN Leaders raised a toast to the signing of the ASEAN Charter.
Three other documents were signed at the same ceremony:
ASEAN Leaders also formally appointed Dr Surin Pitsuwan as the next ASEAN Secretary-General. He will assume his five-year term of office on 1st January 2008.
In the face of competition from regional giants China and India, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is fast-tracking the integration of its economies to create a market of half a billion people. The new Economic Blueprint calls for the elimination of import duties on all products, except for some sensitive items, by 2010 for the six bigger members and by 2015 for smaller economies Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam. Restrictions in trade and services in the sectors of air transport, e-commerce, healthcare and tourism would also be substantially removed by 2010 and by 2013 for the services sector.
According to the Associated Press (AP), while Southeast Asian leaders adopted a landmark charter Tuesday "... their vision to create an EU-style bloc faced hurdles because of concerns over Myanmar, whose military rulers have defied international calls to restore democracy. ... The ASEAN charter sets out a common set of rules for negotiations in trade, investment, environment and other fields. It aims to turn Southeast Asia into a single market and production base with a free flow of goods, services, investment and capital. One of the most significant pledges in the charter is to set up a regional human rights body. ..." [The Associated Press/Factiva]
In the declaration, ASEAN leaders declared to reduce by half of the number of ASEAN people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2010, and to improve the lives of slum dwellers by 2020 in ASEAN member countries. As to climate change in the world, ASEAN countries will enhance cooperation on joint research, development and deployment of low emission technologies for the cleaner use of fossil fuels, the declaration said.
The document, named 'ASEAN Declaration on 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 3rd Session of the Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol,' commits to 'actively and constructively participate in ensuring a successful outcome of the negotiation on a comprehensive agreement' at the two sessions.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the five original Member Countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999. The ASEAN region has a population of about 500 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers, a combined gross domestic product of almost US$ 700 billion, and a total trade of about US$ 850 billion. The aims of the Association are: (1) to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and (2) to promote regional peace and stability. For more information, visit http://www.aseansec.org/64.htm.
Source: World Bank Press Review, November 20, 2007 and ASEAN website.
Three other documents were signed at the same ceremony:
- Declaration on the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint
- ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Sustainability
- ASEAN Declaration on the 13th Session of the Conference of Parties (CoP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 3rd Conference of Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP) to the Kyoto Protocol
ASEAN Leaders also formally appointed Dr Surin Pitsuwan as the next ASEAN Secretary-General. He will assume his five-year term of office on 1st January 2008.
In the face of competition from regional giants China and India, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is fast-tracking the integration of its economies to create a market of half a billion people. The new Economic Blueprint calls for the elimination of import duties on all products, except for some sensitive items, by 2010 for the six bigger members and by 2015 for smaller economies Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam. Restrictions in trade and services in the sectors of air transport, e-commerce, healthcare and tourism would also be substantially removed by 2010 and by 2013 for the services sector.
According to the Associated Press (AP), while Southeast Asian leaders adopted a landmark charter Tuesday "... their vision to create an EU-style bloc faced hurdles because of concerns over Myanmar, whose military rulers have defied international calls to restore democracy. ... The ASEAN charter sets out a common set of rules for negotiations in trade, investment, environment and other fields. It aims to turn Southeast Asia into a single market and production base with a free flow of goods, services, investment and capital. One of the most significant pledges in the charter is to set up a regional human rights body. ..." [The Associated Press/Factiva]
The document, named 'ASEAN Declaration on 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 3rd Session of the Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol,' commits to 'actively and constructively participate in ensuring a successful outcome of the negotiation on a comprehensive agreement' at the two sessions.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the five original Member Countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999. The ASEAN region has a population of about 500 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers, a combined gross domestic product of almost US$ 700 billion, and a total trade of about US$ 850 billion. The aims of the Association are: (1) to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and (2) to promote regional peace and stability. For more information, visit http://www.aseansec.org/64.htm.
Source: World Bank Press Review, November 20, 2007 and ASEAN website.
