Achievements towards the ASEAN Community 2015

Following the 2013 Summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations in Brunei Darussalam, Mr Nyan Lynn, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN reported that leaders of the 10-nation bloc had “reaffirmed their commitment to intensify efforts towards realizing the ASEAN Community 2015.”

The integration of the economies of ASEAN member states is a key milestone of the plan  to establish a regional community and the Summit was informed that an average of 82.5% of all action lines towards the ASEAN Community 2015 have been completed or are being implemented —
representing 78% for the political security, 79.7% economic and 90% socio-cultural pillars.

On the economic front, Mr Lynn said that “the economic initiatives undertaken under the ASEAN Community Blueprint are already changing business landscape in the region through better economic opportunities.” He cited the steady growth of GDP in the region as well as the flow of foreign direct investment to ASEAN in the last few years.

With little more than two years before 2015, ASEAN leaders adopted the “Bandar Seri Begawan Declaration on the ASEAN Community Post-2015 Vision” wherein they tasked relevant bodies to further articulate ASEAN’s vision of a community that is “not only politically cohesive, economically integrated, socially responsible but also truly people-oriented, people centered, and rules-based.”