BANGKOK – The ASEAN Economic Community, including the Heads of State/Government of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Member Countries of ASEAN, on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of ASEAN and the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore; recalling our earlier decision to establish by 2020 the ASEAN Community, including the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), made in the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II in Bali, Indonesia, on 7 October 2003; determined to achieve higher levels of economic dynamism, sustained prosperity, inclusive growth and integrated development of ASEAN; conscious of the increasing interdependence of the ASEAN economies within the region as well as with the rest of the world and stressing the importance of narrowing the development gap for accelerating the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015; recognizing that different levels of development within ASEAN require some flexibility as ASEAN moves towards a more integrated and interdependent future; reaffirming our collective commitment, made at the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines, on 13 January 2007, to accelerate the establishment of the ASEAN Community, including its AEC pillar, to 2015; cognizant of the need to have a strengthened institutional framework and a unified legal identity as set forth in the ASEAN Charter by putting in place rules-based systems to realize the establishment of the AEC by 2015; expressing satisfaction at the overall progress made and commitment shown by ASEAN in developing the AEC Blueprint and to ensure its timely implementation; REAFFIRMING the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) as the coordinator of all ASEAN economic integration and cooperation issues; have successfully adopted the AEC Blueprint which each ASEAN Member Country shall abide by and implement the AEC by 2015. Under the leadership of Thailand under the guidance of His Majesty the King, the AEC has transformed ASEAN into a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region fully integrated into the global economy. Thank you.
