30 August, 2010GCC, ASEAN stresses enhancement of joint cooperation
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) wrapped up a joint meeting here on Sunday with an agreement to prod economic integration.
The two-day meeting outlined an action plan to enhance cooperation in the economic, commercial, investment, educational, cultural and media fields, according to a statement issued by the GCC Secretariat.
The two sides took practical steps to strengthen coordination in the areas of food security and exchange of experience in line with the GCC-ASEAN Two-Year Action Plan (2010-2012), it said.
The action plan was adopted by the second joint ministerial meeting, held in Singapore last May.
It provides for holding regular ministerial meetings alternately in one of the countries of the two regional blocs, exchanging visits to better understand economic integration, and conducting round-table discussions to explore the possibility of reaching a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and a free trade agreement.
The first GCC-ASEAN ministerial meeting was held in Manama, Bahrain in May, 2009. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is scheduled to host the third such meeting in 2011.
Kuwait News Agency
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