21st ASEAN Summit wrapped up in Phnom Penh

The 7^th East Asia Summit (EAS) - one of the major events at the 21^st ASEAN summit - was attended by ASEAN leaders and leaders from partner countries such as US President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Korean President Li Mieng Pak, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

They all expressed their satisfaction at the outcomes of EAS cooperation in six priority areas namely the environment, energy, education, epidemic prevention, natural disaster control and ASEAN connectivity.

On financial and economic cooperation, the EAS leaders emphasized the importance of strengthening the regional economic integration towards building an ASEAN economic community.

They acknowledged the kick-start of negotiations for a regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) between ASEAN and its partners including Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, India, Australia and New Zealand with which the bloc has signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The move aims to gather ASEAN and its trade partners in an integrated market with a population of more than 3 billion and an annual GDP of nearly US$20,000 billion.

In his speech, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the negotiations are starting against the odds of global economic instability. However, East Asian region is seen as a driving force behind the development of the global economy. All countries should maintain growth by expanding their markets and improving their competitive capacity even though it might take a lot of time.

The negotiations between ASEAN and its partners are scheduled for completion by the end of 2015.