The Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, has welcomed a further move towards completion of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement, which concludes five years of negotiations between the ASEAN Member States and Japan.
The signing of the AJCEP Agreement, which took place on 15th April, brings the number of free trade agreements signed by ASEAN with a major Dialogue Partner to three.
ASEAN had earlier signed Trade in Goods and Trade in Services Agreements with China and the Republic of Korea.
Dr Surin noted that “the signing adds another milestone in ASEAN’s economic engagement with its Dialogue Partners and the three agreements collectively will set the stage for bringing to a higher level the ASEAN Plus Three economic cooperation."
The AJCEP Agreement is ASEAN’s first economic partnership agreement that is comprehensive in scope. It covers such fields as trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and economic cooperation.
“With the AJCEP, we hope to encourage regional cumulation that will benefit Japanese investors like Toyota, Mitsubishi and Sony, which are operating and have huge investments in ASEAN countries, and ASEAN supporting industries as well,” Dr Surin explained.
As more investors come to ASEAN through the Free Trade Area, the economic divide among the estimated 693 million people in ASEAN and Japan is expected to be narrowed. From 2002 to 2006, the total FDI from Japan in ASEAN reached USD30.8bn.
As a next step to the signing of the AJCEP Agreement, ASEAN Member States and Japan will start the respective domestic procedures necessary for entry into force of the Agreement.
ASEAN Member States comprise Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment