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HUA HIN, Thailand: ASEAN is working with China on an Air Transport Agreement to be concluded next year.
Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, hopes the agreement would be a trail blazer for future aviation agreements with the grouping's dialogue partners.
The ASEAN Summit also saw the launch of the Connectivity Masterplan to grow the region into a mega hub.
Getting connected is more than just the traditional handshake at the ASEAN meetings.
Mr Lee said the grouping should work together on the East Asia Free Trade Area and the Comprehensive Economic partnership in East Asia.
ASEAN was also asked to focus on the proposed joint air services agreement between South Korea and the 10-member grouping which will further boost trade and tourism and strengthen people-to-people links.
Beyond these areas of cooperation, a high-level task force will soon work on a masterplan to speed up ASEAN's connectivity by linking the region by air, land, sea and telecommunications.
The masterplan should be ready by October next year in time for the 17th ASEAN Summit in Vietnam.
Making sure that ASEAN's voice is heard in the international arena was also discussed during the ASEAN leaders retreat, and they have agreed that the ASEAN Chair and the Secretary-General of ASEAN should be invited to take part in future G20 summits.
For this, they have suggested setting up an ASEAN G20 contact group and have left it to the finance ministers to work out the details.
On the final day of their summit, ASEAN leaders will meet their East Asian counterparts, as well as the leaders of India, New Zealand and Australia.
Their talks are expected to focus on the role countries can play in maintaining the stability and security of the Asia Pacific region, as economies continue to recover from the global downturn. - CNA/so/ms
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