Asean has made progress on its long-term goals and areas of cooperation: PM Lee

Region remains a bright spot at a time when global economy is not that vibrant, he says

- Hariz Baharudin

JAKARTA - Asean has made progress in planning for its long-term goals as well as on specific areas of cooperation, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday.

Speaking to local reporters at the close of the 43rd Asean Summit and related meetings, PM Lee also held up the gains made through cooperation within the bloc, as well as externally.

He and other regional leaders have spent the past week in Jakarta, where they had talks among themselves as well as with external partners.

These included summits with Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, South Korea, the United Nations and the United States, as well as large-group meetings.

On Asean's internal agenda, PM Lee noted how the bloc has a longterm plan for what it wants to achieve in its next phase, in the form of the Asean Vision 2045.

In 2015, the grouping's leaders agreed on a road map for the bloc, Asean 2025: Forging Ahead Together, to work on collectively raising the region's profile and ensuring the prosperity of each member state.

The group set up a high-level task force to discuss the extension of this plan, the Asean Vision 2045, which will spell out how the bloc can continue its work post-2025 and achieve its aims for the next 20 years.

PM Lee said that discussions had also involved specific areas of cooperation, including the digital economy, and he highlighted how Asean had embarked on discussions on its Digital Economy Framework Agreement.

This trade pact - for which the bloc launched negotiations just before the Asean Summit - seeks to facilitate more seamless crossborder digital trade and allow for online trade across countries in the region to become faster and more convenient.