ASEAN Community Vision 2025 To Sustain Regional Integration Momentum

By Rohani Mohd Ibrahim KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- The ASEAN Community Vision 2025, to be unveiled at the 27th ASEAN Summit this weekend, aims to sustain the momentum of regional integration and contribute towards strengthening further the ASEAN community building efforts. Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman noted that the vision articulated the aspirations of ASEAN towards realising a politically cohesive, economically integrated, socially responsible and truly rules-based, people-oriented and people-centred ASEAN. "The ASEAN Community Vision 2025 is a broad, strategic and forward-looking document that reflects the aspirations of the ASEAN people in the next 10 years," he told Bernama in an interview ahead of the 27th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits from Nov 18 to 22. ASEAN leaders attending the summit, to be presided over by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, are set to sign on Sunday the 'Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Community'. To be established by year-end, it will pave the way for closer integration among the 10 Southeast Asian nations underpinned by three pillars - economy, political-security and socio-culture. The ASEAN Community Vision 2025 is one of the key documents to be incorporated in the 'ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together' document to be adopted, also on Sunday, by ASEAN leaders at the Kuala Lumpur gathering. Elaborating on the vision for the next 10 years, Anifah said there were a number of focus areas, such as enhancing awareness of ASEAN and its vision of a politically cohesive, economically integrated, socially responsible community. It also seeks to promote a people-oriented, people-centred ASEAN with a view to ensuring that the impact and benefits of ASEAN integration are equally enjoyed by all segments of society. Another focus will be on engaging all nationals of ASEAN members through effective and innovative platforms to promote commitment and identification with ASEAN policies and regional interests. The vision, Anifah said, also eyed an ASEAN Community that was committed to fundamental freedoms, human rights and better lives for all ASEAN people. The community will seek to strengthen capacity to deal with existing and emerging challenges while maintaining ASEAN centrality, Anifah said. Promoting ASEAN as an outward-looking region and a global player is also a focus of the vision, along with implementing the ASEAN agenda while pursuing national aspirations which contribute to the ASEAN Community. The final focus touches on the need to strengthen ASEAN organs and the secretariat. In realising the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, three Community Blueprints 2025 had been designed to translate the vision into action lines and strategic measures within specific targets and timeframes. "These action lines and strategic measures seek to build on the experience and lessons learned in the implementation of the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015 with a view to ensuring that 'ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together' is relevant, contemporary and responsive to new challenges," Anifah said. ASEAN groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -- BERNAMA