MEMBER NATIONS HAVE TO TRANSLATE RESOLUTIONS TO REALISE ASEAN COMMUNITY - NAJIB

From Jamaluddin Muhammad

HANOI, April 9 (Bernama) -- Asean member countries have to translate all
resolutions adopted by the regional organisation to realise the formation of the
Asean Community by 2015, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak
said here Thursday night.

He said this included the ratification of the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA)
agreement with other countries.

"There are member countries which have yet to ratify certain resolutions,
even
Malaysia," he told Malaysian journalists after attending the 16th Asean Summit
at the National Convention Centre, here.

"The formation of the Asean Community encompasses three pillars, which are
economic, socio-cultural and security, and these must be the focus of every
member country," he said.

Asean's aspiration to become a community would be realised if every member
country took measures towards the achievement of the objective, he said.

He also said that emphasis should be given to communication strategy so
that
the people understood what an Asean Community meant.

The question of connectivity was important to continually upgrade
people-to-people contact and for the delivery of goods and services, besides ICT
and air services, he said.

One specific project related to connectivity was the development of a
railway
link between Singapore and Kunming in China, besides the double track railway
now under construction in Malaysia, he said.

On his bilateral talks with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at a
hotel here this afternoon, Najib said his Vietnamese counterpart was most
satisfied with the participation of the Malaysian private sector in Vietnam.

He said Malaysia was the third highest investor in Vietnam and was engaged
in
large and iconic projects.

Najib said these included the construction of two leading hotels and a
coal-powered power plant by Malaysian companies.

Nguyen wanted cooperation with Malaysia to be expanded to cover politics,
security, manpower and understanding on overlapping claims in the South China
Sea, he said.

Najib said Malaysia and Vietnam might conduct coordinated patrols in the
areas jointly claimed by both countries in the South China Sea.

In the evening, Najib held bilateral talks with Philippine President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo and Laotian Prime Minister Laos Bouasone Bouphavanh at the
convention centre, on the sidelines of the summit.

-- BERNAMA



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