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ASEAN leaders launch EU-style regional economic bloc

Kashmir Times. Dated: 11/23/2015 9:41:46 AM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 (Agencies): ASEAN leaders today declared the establishment of an EU-style regional economic bloc, ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour in the region.
The Kuala Lumpur declaration on the establishment of the AEC was today signed by the leaders of 10-nation grouping in front of world leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The AEC envisages a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour across borders in the highly competitive economic region. It will integrate Southeast Asia's diverse economies, a region with 620 million people and a combined gross domestic product of USD 2.4 trillion.
The ASEAN leaders also adopted the declaration on "ASEAN 2025, forging ahead together".
"ASEAN is working towards a community that is politically cohesive, economically integrated and socially responsible," the declaration said.