Asean meeting of high level task force on economic integration kicks off in Myanmar

The 25th meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) High Level Task Force (HLTF) on Economic Integration, which aimed at promoting free trade between ASEAN nations, kicked off in Yangon on Tuesday. Present at the meeting were Dr. San Lwin, Myanmar deputy minister of national planning and economic development, Lin Hong Hin, deputy secretary general of ASEAN Secretariat and other senior officials from ASEAN member countries. The meeting discussed on ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Post- 2015 Vision, strengthening of the ASEAN Secretariat and AEC scorecard phase 4. "We discussed mainly on efforts to establish the AEC by 2015 and to access in developing the AEC vision and mission beyond 2015 that will chart our future work," Dr. San Lwin said, "Our preparedness for AEC has completed more than 86 percent of overall. " ASEAN-member states are currently priming for the AEC, which is seen to transform the ASEAN into a single market and production base in which there is free flow of goods, services, investments, skilled labor as well as capital. In January, the first Myanmar-host ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) was held in Bagan, an ancient city in northern Mandalay region. The AMM Retreat is the first in the series of ASEAN foreign ministers meetings under Myanmar's ASEAN chairmanship in 2014 under the theme "Moving forward in Unity to a Peaceful and Prosperous Community." ASEAN comprises 10 member countries -- Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.