ASEAN striding forward to greater Asian integration

SINGAPORE: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is striding forward a greater Asian economic integration with the conclusion of free trade deals with India, Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, ministers said.

During the 40th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting currently taking place in Singapore, the regional bloc and its seventh largest trading partner India announced they had concluded a free trade deal in goods after five years of negotiations.

The pact will facilitate to open the regional market of 1.7 billion people and with a combined gross domestic product of nearly 2,400 billion U.S. dollars. India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath expressed “ deep satisfaction” at the conclusion of the deal, saying “This is an important milestone for our region.”

ASEAN - a market of over 550 million people boasting total trade of 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars and a gross regional product of 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars - has been negotiating on FTA with other dialogue partners at various levels.

Friday, Xinhua