Thailand urged to further engage into ASEAN

BANGKOK, January 19 (TNA) - ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan has urged Thailand to further engage with nine other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to capitalize new emerging opportunities in the region. Dr. Surin made the call during his keynote address at the CEO Forum in Bangkok on Tuesday, as the 10-member ASEAN is scheduled to form its single community by 2015 with a total population of some 600 million. The ASEAN secretary general, who is a former Thai foreign minister, acknowledged if Thailand enhances English proficiency among its people, the quality of future Thai entrepreneurs will also excel. On a regional outlook, the ASEAN chief said ASEAN, with an annual combined gross domestic product (GDP) of some two trillion U.S. dollars, holds tremendous potential and resources and has been a global attraction for foreign direct investment (FDI), suggesting, however, the figure needs to further increase in order for the ASEAN single community to be firmly established. The ASEAN chief also urged ASEAN to take a ‘smart approach’ towards the regional integration by learning from the European Union (EU) model, expressing his hope that reforms being undertaken will converge each member state with the larger entity of ASEAN by the time the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is established by 2015. (TNA)