1. ASEAN
(Association of South-East Asian Nations)
By :
Ms. Monika Singh
Assistant Professor
Hierank Business School
(monika9424.ms@gmail.com)
2. INTRODUCTION
• The formation of ASEAN, enable the member countries to have close cohesiveness, share
their economic and human resources and achieve synergy in the development of their
agricultural sector, industrial sector and service sector.
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping that
promotes economic, political, and security cooperation among its ten members: Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,
and Vietnam. ASEAN countries have a total population of 650 million people and a
combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.8 trillion. The group has played a central
role in Asian economic integration, signing six free-trade agreements with other regional
economies and helping spearhead negotiations for what could be the world’s largest free
trade pact.
3. CONT…
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional intergovernmental
organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia, which
promotes intergovernmental cooperation and
facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration
among its members and other countries in Asia. The body is headquartered in Jakarta,
Indonesia.
4. MEMBER COUNTRIES OF ASEAN
• Indonesia (founding member)
• Thailand (founding member)
• Singapore (founding member)
• Malaysia (founding member)
• Philippines (founding member)
• Brunei (joined in 1984)
• Vietnam (joined in 1995)
• Cambodia (joined in 1999)
• Laos (joined in 1997)
• Myanmar (joined in 1997)
5. OBJECTIVES OF ASEAN
• To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region
through joint endeavors.
• To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of
law.
• To encourage active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in
Economic, Social, Cultural, Technical, Scientific and Administrative fields.
• To provide assistance to each other in terms of training and research facilities in the
educational, professional, technical and administrative areas.
6. • To work together for a greater utilization of agriculture and industries in order to expand
the trade both locally and internationally.
• To study the problems of international community trade, the improvement of their
transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of the
nations.
• To promote Southeast Asian studies.
7. FUNCTIONS OF ASEAN
• Shared commitment – peace, security, stability
• Peaceful settlement of disputes
• Non-interference in internal affairs
• Centrality of ASEAN in economic, political, social, cultural relations
8. ASEAN FREE TRADE AREA (AFTA)
• The framework of agreement on enhancing economic co-operation (1992) made a
decisive move towards economic co-operation by proposing AFTA to increase ASEAN’s
competitive advantage as a single production unit in the world market. With this, greater
economic efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness were expected to emerge out of
the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers. Towards this objective, foreign firms were
allowed to team up with the local firms by using as much as 60 per cent of the imported
materials from outside the ASEAN world.
9. • The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore. When the AFTA
agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members,
namely, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam
joined in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999. AFTA now comprises
the ten countries of ASEAN. All the four latecomers were required to sign the AFTA
agreement to join ASEAN, but were given longer time frames in which to meet AFTA's
tariff reduction obligations.
10. THE PRIMARY GOALS OF AFTA SEEK TO:
• Increase ASEAN's competitive edge as a production base in the world market through the
elimination, within ASEAN, of tariffs and non-tariff barriers; and
• Attract more foreign direct investment to ASEAN.
• Establish free trade area in the member countries.
