04 September 2004	Saturday	18 Rajab 1425

JAKARTA, Sept 3: Southeast Asian countries on Friday completed talks on a "road-map" for economic integration, bringing the region a step closer to creating a European-style single market covering 530 million people.

The plan calls for the abolition of tariffs in 11 industry sectors by 2007 for six more developed members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Asean's four other members - Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam - have been given until 2012 to abolish tariffs in the 11 priority sectors. The road-map will be submitted to Asean leaders for endorsement during their summit in Laos in November.

It is aimed at facilitating businesses within Asean to work together in an efficient manner so they can better compete internationally, said secretary general of the association Ong Keng Yong.

"In the automotive sector different companies produce cars. How can we (governments) as the facilitator of integration provide an easier environment for parts to move around, parts to be produced in certain countries and sent to other countries to be put into bigger products," Ong said.

"To do that requires not just tariff reduction but also ease of administration," he told a press conference after the annual meeting of Asean trade ministers.

At a summit in Bali last October, Asean leaders endorsed a plan to achieve a single production base and market by 2020, with a free flow of goods, services and investments in the region.

Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz said the road-map represented various views from the private sector. The role of the governments was to "facilitate and provide the framework so that they can move forward and try to improve our domestic laws and regulation to make Asean businesses flourish," she said.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri in his speech opening the meeting said the association must be more open if it was to create an economic community similar to the EU.

Megawati said regional economic integration was "a real necessity." Asean hopes to integrate the 11 industry sectors, including autos, textiles and electronics, before 2010 as part of efforts to establish the economic community. -AFP