communications facilities and the raising of
ASEAN INTEGRATION
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
was established on 8 August 1967. The Member
States of the Association are Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam. The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta,
Indonesia.
OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES OF ASEAN:
The aims and purposes of ASEAN are:
1. To accelerate the economic growth, social
progress and cultural development in the
region through joint endeavors in the spirit
of equality and partnership in order to
strengthen the foundation for a prosperous
and peaceful community of Southeast Asian
Nations;
2. To promote regional peace and stability
through abiding respect for justice and the
rule of law in the relationship among
countries of the region and adherence to
the principles of the United Nations
Charter;
3. To promote active collaboration and
mutual assistance on matters of common
interest in the economic, social, cultural,
technical, scientific and administrative
fields;
4. To provide assistance to each other in the
form of training and research facilities in
the educational, professional, technical and
administrative spheres;
5. To collaborate more effectively for the
greater utilization of their agriculture and
industries, the expansion of their trade,
including the study of the problems of
international commodity trade, the
improvement of their transportation and
the living standards of their peoples;
6. To promote Southeast Asian studies; and
7. To maintain close and beneficial
cooperation with existing international
and regional organizations with similar
aims and purposes, and explore all avenues
for even closer cooperation among
themselves.
ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY BLUEPRINT 2025
The AEC Blueprint 2025, adopted by the ASEAN
Leaders at the 27th ASEAN Summit on 22 November
2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, provides broad
directions through strategic measures for the AEC
from 2016 to 2025.
Aimed towards achieving the vision of having an AEC
by 2025 that is highly integrated and cohesive;
competitive, innovative and dynamic; with enhanced
connectivity and sectoral cooperation; and a more
resilient, inclusive, and people-oriented, people-
centred community, integrated with the global
economy
OBJECTIVES OF ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
BLUEPRINT 2025
1. To create a highly integrated and cohesive
economy.
2. Achieving a competitive, innovative, and
dynamic ASEAN.
3. Enhanced connectivity and sectoral
cooperation.
4. To build a resilient, inclusive, people-
oriented, and people-centred ASEAN.
5. The attainment of a global ASEAN.
PURPOSES OF ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
BLUEPRINT 2025
1. To facilitate the seamless movement of
goods, services, investment, capital, and
skilled labour within ASEAN in order to
enhance ASEAN’s trade and production
 networks, as well as to establish a more
unified market for its firms and consumers.
2. To focus on elements that contributes to
increasing the region’s competitiveness and
productivity. To ensure the success of
regional economic integration.
journey of the ten ASEAN Member States as an
economic community, guided by the AEC Blueprint
2025. The progress of the AEC is of interest to a
broad audience. The ASEAN Integration Report (AIR)
2019 presents a comprehensive assessment of
ASEAN economic integration efforts in the four years
since its inaugural issue in 2015.

With its consistent commitment to open

3. To enhance economic connectivity involving regionalism, ASEAN continues to pursue active
various sectors, namely, transport, external economic relations with countries and
telecommunication and energy. As well as regional groupings around the world in parallel to its
to further integrate and cooperate in key internal integration efforts. Contributing towards its
sectors that complement existing efforts objective towards becoming a global ASEAN.
towards creating an integrated and
sustainable economic region and
strengthening soft and hard networks in the SOURCES
region.
1. Asean.org
4. To strengthen the Role of Micro, Small, and 2. ASEAN INTEGRATION REPORT 2019
Medium Enterprises. As well as to 3. ASEAN COMMUNITY BLUEPRINT 2025
strengthen the role of the Private Sector.

5. To make steady progress towards

integrating the region into the global
economy through Free Trade Agreements
and comprehensive economic partnership
agreements. Through these engagements,
ASEAN can seek to promote
complementarities and mutual benefits for
ASEAN.

CONTRIBUTIONS

Notwithstanding growing uncertainties in the global

economy, ASEAN’s overall economic performance
remains robust. Regional gross domestic product
(GDP) has more than doubled from US$1.3 trillion in
2007 to US$2.8 trillion in 2017 within the span of a
decade. ASEAN is the fifth largest economy in the
world, a trade powerhouse, and a compelling
investment destination.

The launch of the ASEAN Economic Community

(AEC) as a pillar of the ASEAN Community in 2015
was a milestone in the region’s economic
integration. It marked the start of the collective