ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh (Source: VNA) Minh made the statement in an interview withVietnam News Agency reporters on the occasion of the bloc’s 50th founding anniversary (August 8).
He told reporters that when ASEAN wasestablished in 1967, it mainly focused on security-related issues.
Economics cooperation began in the 1970s,while economic integration began in 1990 with the signing of an agreement onthe ASEAN free trade area.
Notably, in 2007, a roadmap to establish theASEAN Economic Community was improved. Since then, the bloc has been successfulin economic cooperation, Minh said, adding that the region is an attractivedestination for foreign investors.
Since joining ASEAN, Vietnam has stepped upcooperation with other member states and integrated more deeply into the globalvalue chain.
With its participation in the Trans-PacificPartnership, negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnershipand signing of free trade agreements with the European Union and the EurasianEconomic Union, Vietnam can take advantage of the bloc’s collective strength,while trade and investment between the country and the bloc will also growrapidly, he added.
The Secretary General also mentionedchallenges facing the bloc.
According to him, the biggest challenge is alarge development gap in the region. At present, average GDP of the richestcountry is 43 times higher than that of the poorest.
Non-tariff barriers are hampering theregion’s trade development, he stated.
Also, ASEAN has an economic policy ofsupporting trade liberalisation and globalisation, while some major global economiesare trending towards protectionism, he added.
He suggested Vietnamese enterprises learnabout the opportunities and challenges of the country’s integration into ASEAN totake advantage of the opportunities and overcome the challenges.
According to him, during 2006-2016,Vietnam’s proportion in ASEAN’s GDP doubled from 3.5 percent to 7 percent.Investments by ASEAN member states in Vietnam also rose 120 percent.-VNA
VNA
