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ASEAN looks to strengthen trade, investment beyond member countries
Laos' Minister of Industry and Commerce Malaythong Kommasith hopes ASEAN can strengthen ties with China, Japan and South Korea, or the “Plus Three” countries, through new economic cooperation.
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ASEAN economic ministers link hands at the opening of the 56th AEM and 38th ASEAN Free Trade Area Council Meeting in Vientiane, Laos. (ANN/VIENTIANE TIMES)
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SEAN is ramping up efforts to deepen economic partnerships with non-member countries, particularly China, Japan and South Korea, as global trade remains fragmented amid tensions between China and the United States.
Last year, ASEAN countries exported US$485.8 million worth of goods to these three countries, dubbed the Plus Three (+3), while importing $647 million from them. That trade activity represented 32 percent of the region’s total trade value.
The term ASEAN+3 was coined in December 1997 and has since evolved into the main vehicle for promoting East Asian cooperation.
“Our trade and investment links with the Plus Three countries are solid, and we hope to further strengthen these ties with the implementation of our new economic cooperation plans,” said Laos’ Minister of Industry and Commerce Malaythong Kommasith at the 27th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Plus Three Meeting in Vientiane on Sunday.
Chinese deputy Minister of Commerce Li Fei, Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoshida Nobuhiro and South Korean Minister for Trade Industry and Energy Inkyo Cheong were present at the meeting.
The discussion centered on deepening economic integration, promoting inclusive and sustainable development and advancing digital technology.
Kommasith highlighted that, aside from being ASEAN’s top trading partners, the Plus Three countries are also the region’s second-largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI), behind the US.
