Member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed recently in Singapore on a blueprint to create the regional economic community by 2015.
Although the agreement promises a stable, prosperous, and highly competitive region with equitable economic development, there are still a number of tough challenges ahead.
The signing of ASEAN economic blueprint indicates a new era on the regional cooperation, which shows a maturity of the group in facing global competition, Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said.
Under the blueprint, the group, with a total population of 567.4 million and GDP of 1,064.4 billion U.S. dollars, would have a single market and production base with free flows of goods, services and investment, skilled labor and freer flow of capital, priority integration sectors, and food, agriculture and forestry.
The economic community would make a highly competitive ASEAN economy to be able to penetrate the global market, Pangestu said.
However, she said there were still tough roads to achieve the goal and a number of homework needed to be done.
The blueprint features 12 priority integration sectors, including seven goods, five services, they are agro-based products, air travel, automotive, E-ASEAN, electronics, fisheries, healthcare, rubber-based products, textiles and apparels, tourism, wood-based products and logistic services.
ASEAN could achieve high competitiveness through competition policy, consumer protection, infrastructure development, energy, taxation and e-commerce, said the blueprint.
The full integration into global economy will be achieved by implementing coherent approach among ASEAN nations towards external economic relation and enhanced participation in global supply networks, said the blueprint.
Pangestu said that as the biggest southeast Asia economy, Indonesia, which has economic growth above the average of ASEAN countries, had a huge opportunity along with other ASEAN countries to use this momentum to improve its domestic economy,
Indonesia economy grew by 6.5 percent in the third quarter, above the prediction of average growth of 5.8 percent for the ASEAN countries this year.
However, coordination and cooperation among all elements including in Jakarta and regional administrators, private sectors, parliament, education sectors and community are needed to make Indonesia not lag far behind other ASEAN countries and to make Indonesia a key players in the region, she said.
The government would take steps soon to continue reform of national economic program and at the same time to comply with ASEAN commitment on time, said Pangestu.
However, she admitted that the halted reform program, poor infrastructure and red tape that cause high economic coast, were among the main obstacles that must be overcome, she said.
"Our domestic reform program has been halted. Poor transport facilities to sea port, bad electrical supply and red tape, I think these are homework that must be done," she said.
A recent survey by the Regional Autonomy Monitoring Committee (KPPOD), a body established by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, showed many regency and municipality administrations have done nothing to improve the investment climate in their regions.
Lack of capabilities also showed in the sharp decline of oil production from 60,000 barrel per day to 20 barrel per day in Coastal Plains Pekanbaru (CPP) block in Riau province, Sumatra, after the shifting of management from the U.S. company Caltex to the regional government and Indonesia's state oil company Pertamina.
On aviation, where ASEAN countries agreed to liberalize the sector by 2015, may cause Singapore Airline Ltd, and Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd to get more chances to fly in the region.
Indonesia's aviation which are shattered by international critics after the rampant air accident seemed must work hard to catch up with other regional competitors, said Pangestu.
ASEAN members include Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Source: Xinhua
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