Monday, 2 March 2009

The Association of South East Asian Nations wants to become an integrated organisation like the European Union by 2015.

Radio New Zealand
2 March 2009

The 10 countries ended their annual meeting in Thailand on Sunday.

However, the BBC reports they stressed that the EU was an inspiration and not a model.

The group endorsed measures to stimulate economic activity, ease access to credit, and stand firm against trade protectionism.

Ministers on Sunday also signed an energy agreement to allow members to buy oil at a discount during times of crisis.

A free trade deal with Australia and New Zealand was signed on Friday.

Foreign ministers from ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea agreed a week ago to extend a regional emergency fund set up in 2000 to $US120 billion.

ASEAN members are: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Their combined gross domestic product is around $US1.4 trillion.

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