ASEAN urges economic reform, cooperation
01-03-2009
Southeast Asian leaders have called for increased cooperation and urgent reform to deal with the global financial crisis as they wrapped up a summit dominated by the economic downturn. Leaders from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have spent much of their annual meeting seeking ways to soften the impact of the meltdown on their export-driven economies, with millions of jobs at risk. In a joint statement issued at the end of the summit in Thailand, they urged developed and developing countries to show "more coordinated action... to restore financial stability and ensure the continued functioning of financial markets." They further called for "bold and urgent reform of the international financial system," while agreeing to "stand firm against protectionism." The leaders also signed a declaration on setting up an EU-style ASEAN community by 2015 that is aimed at protecting the diverse bloc of around 570 million people from future economic turmoil.
