Vietnam attends ASEAN Economic Ministers Retreat in Singapore

(Bqp.vn) - Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang led the Vietnamese delegation to the ASEAN Economic Ministers Retreat held in Singapore on February 27.

Minister Vu Huy Hoang in Singapore. (Photo: VNA)

The event saw the attendance of economic ministers from the other nine ASEAN member countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Also present was ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh.

Inside sources have said that the meeting focused on strengthening preparedness ahead of the 2015 establishment of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

Ahead of the Ministers Retreat, senior ASEAN officials met on February 26, reviewing the implementation of ASEAN+1 Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and preparation for the establishment of the ASEAN+6 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which comprises the 10 ASEAN member nations as well as China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Meetings of the ASEAN Caucus on the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) were also held. The AHKFTA is expected to be initiated in 2015.

The participants of the RCEP FTA negotiations comprise a total population of over 3 billion and a trade share estimated at around 27 percent of global trade (based on 2012 WTO figures), including a GDP of around US$21 trillion (2012 IMF figures).

(Source: Nhan Dan)