PUTRAJAYA: The Asean region is seen by many as the “locomotive” that will pull the rest of the world out of the current economic slowdown, said Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan.

Dr Surin said the region had bounced back from the global economic slowdown faster than other parts of the world and was being looked upon by the world as the catalyst to trigger global economic recovery.

Speaking to reporters during the Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting here yesterday, he said, the region had not been as negatively affected as some parts of the world and, due to its resilience, had started showing economic growth.

He said the efforts towards full economic recovery was one of the issues discussed at the meeting.

“We are on track and we are talking about how to coordinate amongst ourselves to project our voice and profile on the world stage,” he said.

International Trade and Industries Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed meanwhile said the implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) was on track, with the programme recording an 85% progress rate at the start of this year.

He said the progress had been good although there were hiccups in the implementation.

When the AEC is fully implemented latest by 2015, import duties for trade in goods between Asean countries will be abolished.

At the previous Asean summit in October last year, the progress rate was only 72%.

“By and large, we (Asean) have been successful but not 100% successful. The score is not perfect, and we wished we achieved a lot more, but we will be able to achieve AEC’s target by 2015,” he said.

He acknowledged that the global economic recession had some impact towards efforts of economic integration among Asean countries, but said there was no need to extend the timeline for AEC’s full implementation beyond 2015.

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