ASEAN finance ministers vow to fight inflation, integrate economies

The Associated Press ,  Danang   |  Fri, 04/04/2008 6:27 PM

Financial leaders from Southeast Asia renewed their commitment to economic integratio on Friday and said they would remain vigilant against inflation, which is hurting consumers across the region.

Finance ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, wrapped up their two-day annual meeting amid an economic slowdown in the U.S. and with food and fuel prices rising around the region.

The ministers discussed the global economic slowdown, inflation and the possible impact of the U.S. credit crisis.

"We are all facing the same challenge of slower growth and high inflation," said Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the Singaporean finance minister, speaking on the sidelines of the meeting. "We have to watch this carefully and be nimble as the situation evolves."

The World Bank has predicted that growth in developing Asian nations will slow by 1 or 2 percentage points in 2008 to around 8.5 percent.

At the conclusion of their meetings, the ministers issued a statement acknowledging the difficult climate but expressing confidence in the Southeast Asia's underlying economic strength.

"We remain vigilant against these risks and resolve to maintain sound fiscal and monetary policies, while continuing to implement policies that will sustain domestic demand," they said in the statement. "We are further encouraged by the growth in intra-regional trade and investments."

The ministers signed an agreement intended to promote regional trade by opening up their financial services sectors to one another.

They also reiterated their commitment to a blueprint adopted last year that would transform the region into a European Union-style economic bloc by 2015.

Goods, services, investment, skilled labor and capital would be allowed to move across borders freely under the ASEAN Economic Community, though it would not involve a single currency like the euro.

ASEAN's members are Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Laos and Myanmar. Delegates from China, South Korea and Japan also attended the meetings, the 12th annual gathering of ASEAN finance ministers. (*)

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