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Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said here on Tuesday that ASEAN is making strong progress toward the establishment of the ASEAN Community by the end of the year.
Najib made remarks at a press conference on Tuesday following the conclusion of the 26th ASEAN Summit in Langkawi Monday night.
"This is a very significant milestone in the history of our organization, and we must ensure the every effort is expended in pursuit of that goal," said Najib.
In the Chairman's statement of the 26th ASEAN Summit which was released to media Tuesday, ASEAN leaders said they are pleased with the positive progress made since 2009 in implementing the roadmap for an ASEAN Community and they agreed to further intensify their work to realize an ASEAN Community that is politically cohesive, economically integrated and socially responsible in order to take advantage of current and future opportunities, and effectively respond to regional and international challenges.
The year 2015 marks an important and crucial year for ASEAN economic integration as the 10 member states are geared towards the integration and realization of the ASEAN Economic Community ( AEC). Among the three pillars of the ASEAN Community, AEC has been the most productive given that ASEAN member states (AMS) have adopted 80 percent of all measures based on score cards.
But issues of non-tariff barriers, free flow of skilled workers, and varying levels of development of member states, among others, remain to challenge the regional economic integration.
During the 26th Summit, ASEAN leaders agreed to tackle non- tariff barriers in order to further boost free movement of goods and services, Najib said.
The prime minister said ASEAN hopes that there will be freer trade of goods and services, saying "We must accelerate programs to harmonize standards, increasing capital market and financial integration, and promote the seamless movement of goods, services, investments and professionals between our countries". Enditem
