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SINGAPORE : Businesses in Southeast Asia have been urged to relentlessly engage their governments as ASEAN pursues its goal of economic integration by 2015.
The call came from former ASEAN secretary-general Rodolfo Severino on the sidelines of the ongoing ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Singapore.
Some argue that promoting the ASEAN region as a single market by 2015 is not the task of regional governments alone, and that the private sector should do more to help.
Mr Severino, Head, ASEAN Studies Centre, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said: "My observation of the ASEAN business sector is that the business sector is not doing enough to push ASEAN into greater integration.
"The push is coming from the Japanese and American corporations because they are the ones involved in the production networks in ASEAN. But the ASEAN companies are not really pushing as hard as they should."
One reason could be that businesses feel there is nothing they can do about regional economic integration. Another possible reason is a lack of consultation with the government.
The former ASEAN secretary-general, who now heads a think tank dedicated to ASEAN studies, hopes the centre will help bridge the gap.
He said: "The ASEAN Studies Centre will be trying to get the views of the business sector within ASEAN or outside ASEAN, and also trying to propagate the benefits of regional economic integration among the business sectors in ASEAN."
Based in Singapore, the centre started operations in March this year. It is expected to work closely with the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat by undertaking policy research on ASEAN.
It will look at measures to help the 10-member nation grouping grow new capabilities, strengthen its institutions, and enhance cooperation among its members. - CNA/ms
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