Senior economic officials from ASEAN met in the Brunei capital city of
Banda Seri Begawan on April 7 to prepare for the third ASEAN
Coordinating Council Working Group (ACCWG) scheduled for April 8-10.

Representatives
from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Foreign Ministry of
Vietnam attended the meeting, known as the ASEAN Senior Economic
Officials’ Meeting (SEOM).

The officials discussed a
draft agenda for the third ACCWG, contents for the ASEAN Ministerial
Meeting in preparation for the 22 nd ASEAN Summit and related meetings,
a draft report on ACCWG’s outcomes for the 12 th ASEAN Coordinating
Council (ACC) and Timor Leste’s access to ASEAN economic agreements.

Participants debated the double-sided impacts and
challenges facing ASEAN and Timor Leste when the latter joins regional
economic agreements, even including those signed between ASEAN and
dialogue partners, especially in the context that the ASEAN Economic
Community will be established by 2015.

The event is
among the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meetings and the ASEAN Preparatory
Meetings which are taking place from April 7-9 to gear up for the first
ASEAN Summit this year and the ASEAN Preparatory Ministerial Meeting on
April 10-11, which will see the presence of Vietnamese Foreign Minister
Pham Binh Minh.

This year, Brunei took the
action plan themed “Our people, Our future together” in its role as
rotating ASEAN chair. Previous, the country assumed the chair in 1989,
1995 and 2001.

Brunei King Hassanal Bolkiah has
affirmed his commitment to accelerating ASEAN’s connectivity and
integration, and maintaining peace, security, stability and development
in the region, marching towards the goal of realising the ASEAN
Community by 2015.-VNA