(From left) Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Vietnam"s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the 17th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi28 October 2010
ASEAN must cooperate to sustain region's recovery: PM Lee
HANOI, Vietnam: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has emphasised that ASEAN must cooperate to sustain the region's recovery.
Addressing the issue during the Leaders' Retreat at the 17th Summit in Hanoi, Mr Lee said the global economic recovery remains weak.
While Asia is doing well, there are mixed performances in the G3 countries, with unemployment remaining high.
And he cautioned that if the G3 countries continued to struggle, it would be bad for ASEAN.
So Mr Lee called on ASEAN countries to press on with trade liberalisation and reform the domestic economies to make the region even more attractive to investors.
Mr Lee said the High Level Task Force on Connectivity has developed a cogent and comprehensive ASEAN Connectivity Masterplan, proposing 19 key strategies to enhance.
For physical connectivity, they have proposed establishing an integrated and seamless regional connectivity for transport, ICT and energy infrastructure.
In the area of institutional connectivity, the report calls for the removal of non-tariff barriers and harmonise standards.
Meanwhile, for people-to-people connectivity, the plan is to promote intra-ASEAN social and cultural interaction and understanding.
Mr Lee said ASEAN must now press on with the next more challenging phase of implementing the recommendations and adhering to the timelines.
ASEAN must also engage its dialogue partners to help in this implementation phase.
On this, Mr Lee said Singapore warmly welcomes the admission of Russia and US into the East Asia Summit (EAS).
He said their entry will enrich discussions and strengthen regional cooperation.
Mr Lee noted that Russia and the US are also members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and it is an excellent opportunity for APEC and the EAS to maximise benefits for the region.
But at the same time, Mr Lee cautioned that ASEAN should watch for suggestions to rationalise the regional architecture.
He said that such an argument over-simplified the complex situation in Asia.
He noted that the existing architecture comprising ASEAN and various forums such as the EAS, the ASEAN regional forum and APEC are tried and tested, and each forum played its own useful role and complemented each other.
Overlapping may occur, but Mr Lee said these produce a more resilient structure.
Overall, Mr Lee concluded ASEAN is in a good position
ASEAN must cooperate to sustain region's recovery: PM Lee
HANOI, Vietnam: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has emphasised that ASEAN must cooperate to sustain the region's recovery.
Addressing the issue during the Leaders' Retreat at the 17th Summit in Hanoi, Mr Lee said the global economic recovery remains weak.
While Asia is doing well, there are mixed performances in the G3 countries, with unemployment remaining high.
And he cautioned that if the G3 countries continued to struggle, it would be bad for ASEAN.
So Mr Lee called on ASEAN countries to press on with trade liberalisation and reform the domestic economies to make the region even more attractive to investors.
Mr Lee said the High Level Task Force on Connectivity has developed a cogent and comprehensive ASEAN Connectivity Masterplan, proposing 19 key strategies to enhance.
For physical connectivity, they have proposed establishing an integrated and seamless regional connectivity for transport, ICT and energy infrastructure.
In the area of institutional connectivity, the report calls for the removal of non-tariff barriers and harmonise standards.
Meanwhile, for people-to-people connectivity, the plan is to promote intra-ASEAN social and cultural interaction and understanding.
Mr Lee said ASEAN must now press on with the next more challenging phase of implementing the recommendations and adhering to the timelines.
ASEAN must also engage its dialogue partners to help in this implementation phase.
On this, Mr Lee said Singapore warmly welcomes the admission of Russia and US into the East Asia Summit (EAS).
He said their entry will enrich discussions and strengthen regional cooperation.
Mr Lee noted that Russia and the US are also members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and it is an excellent opportunity for APEC and the EAS to maximise benefits for the region.
But at the same time, Mr Lee cautioned that ASEAN should watch for suggestions to rationalise the regional architecture.
He said that such an argument over-simplified the complex situation in Asia.
He noted that the existing architecture comprising ASEAN and various forums such as the EAS, the ASEAN regional forum and APEC are tried and tested, and each forum played its own useful role and complemented each other.
Overlapping may occur, but Mr Lee said these produce a more resilient structure.
Overall, Mr Lee concluded ASEAN is in a good position
