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KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should go further in its integration efforts, including aiming to be "100 per cent tariff-free" within its free trade area, said Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (May 26).

The 10-member regional bloc also can deepen collaboration with external partners, both existing & new, amid an increasingly challenging global environment, Mr Wong said on first day of the 46th ASEAN Summit in KL.

This is like a slap on SAO Trump face 

To Anwar, South East Asia must unites to challenge global giants with bold plan to become 4th-largest economy.

KUALA LUMPUR: In an audacious assertion of focus and commitment, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) revealed an all-encompassing tactical framework intended to alter the 10-nation alliance into world’s fourth-largest economy by 2045. A recent Reuters report, strategy was presented during a high-level conference in M'sia. The 41-page strategy aims for nuanced 
(细致入微的) & insightful economic integration, regulatory coordination, & investment-friendly modifications over the region. Specifically, proposal calls for upgraded movement of goods, people & industries with clear-cut governance, viable resource to manage & augmented supply chains. 

Recognising the pressing need to adjust to worldwide shifts, the document recommends “business as usual will not suffice” for a region overflowing with possibilities but confronted by internal gaps and inequalities. “For ASEAN to become the fourth-largest global economy by 2045, countries in the region will need to deepen their economic integration and enhance their agility to address multifaceted challenges,” the plan indicated.