Roadmap to an Asean Economic Community

At the Eighth ASEAN Summit on 4 November 2002 in Cambodia, ASEAN leaders agreed to explore the possibility of transforming ASEAN into an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2020.

Although the proposed AEC was not elaborated in detail during the Summit, it would clearly involve deeper economic integration within ASEAN.

An integrated ASEAN market with a combined population of about 500 million would surely be a magnet for foreign direct investment.

Hence, the proposed AEC could provide the means for ASEAN to revitalize its economies and keep the region competitive vis a vis China and other emerging economies.

This book aims to flesh out the idea of an AEC as well as provide strategies to achieve this goal by 2020.