Establishment of ASEAN Economic Community
The ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC) originates from the ASEAN Vision 2020, which was adopted in
1997 on the 30th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
made up of Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam (ASEAN). With a population of more
than 600 million and a nominal GDP of about $2.31 trillion, ASEAN is a strong
economic community in Asia and also a driver of global growth.
The AEC is the realisation
of the end goal of economic integration as espoused in the Vision 2020, which
is based on a convergence of interests of ASEAN member countries to deepen and
broaden economic integration through existing and new initiatives with clear
timelines. AEC will have to envisage the key characteristics: (i) a single
market and production base, (ii) a highly competitive economic region, (iii) a
region of equitable economic development, and (iv) a region fully integrated into
the global economy. By end of 2015, the AEC will be already started to realize
those goals of regional economic integration and to create a single market and
production base for the region by 2020.