ASEAN Integration Monitoring Report (English Edition)

Since the adoption of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint in 2007 and towards its realisation post-2015, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has undertaken various efforts to monitor its implementation.

Building upon the AEC Scorecard, the inaugural ASEAN Integration Monitoring Report assesses the progress in four AEC-related dimensions: merchandise trade, trade facilitation, services trade and investment. It focuses on policy and market integration outcomes achieved in ASEAN Member States, as part of the first pillar of the AEC formation process.

Released by the ASEAN Integration Monitoring Office of the ASEAN Secretariat, together with the World Bank - East Asia Pacific Region, this report is the first component of the ASEAN Community Monitoring and Evaluation Program (AECMEP).

The ASEAN Integration Monitoring Report shows that ASEAN’s broader economic agenda has brought significant gains to the member states. As a trade-creating block, together with the improvement of trade facilitation, ASEAN integration has led to an increase in intra-ASEAN trade, parallel with an increase in ASEAN’s trade with the rest of the world. ASEAN also had modest contributions to the development of the services sector and the enhancement of foreign direct investment (FDI), both for extra- and intra- regional inflows.

AEC efforts have also helped in narrowing the development gap and accelerating development in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam, whose share of GDP in ASEAN grew from 3.5% in 1990 to nearly 10% in 2011. This is further reflected in the implementation rate of 79.7 % of the AEC Scorecard as of August 2013.

Despite these achievements, there remain several areas where implementation has been limited. Although ASEAN’s gains came from enhancing trade facilitation, services and investments, efforts are still needed in these critical areas as well as in the transport sector. Domestic regulatory reforms, enhanced capacities, strong internal coordination and sufficient budgets are imperatives in order to address the implementation challenges.

The ASEAN Integration Monitoring Report further suggests priorities for future actions for the effective implementation of the AEC 2015 goals.

Download the report here