Move To Remove Non-Tariff Barriers Among Asean Members Positive - Deputy Minister

KOTA BHARU (Kelantan, Malaysia), Oct 1 (Bernama) -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) move to remove non-tariff barriers among members is positive as the countries worked progressively towards finding a common platform to resolve the problem. Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Chua Tee Yong, said even though the members faced problems yet they kept engaging with each other to find solutions. "So we need to find a commom platform if we want to resolve this problem. All this while progress has been positive and that's the reason why we have been able to work together even to sign free trade agreement with China. "That shows the common unity that we have in terms of finding the solution," he told reporters after launching ASEAN Border Trade Exhibition here Saturday. Also present were Thailand's Deputy Minister of Commerce Winichai Chamenchang, Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussain and Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia External Trade Development Corp, Dzulkifli Mahmud. Chua said ASEAN was different from the European Union (EU) as it focussed on a consensus among the countries involved. "EU is governed by one central agency but for us it is more on consensus-building, and that's the reason why the grouping has been able to grow progressively," he said. Meanwhile, Winichai said that ASEAN, which was trying to reduce non-tariff barriers as much as possible, has set up a committee to look at each country's particular problem. The three-day exhibition, which began on Friday, brought together 46 foreign buyers from Thailand, Myanmar and Singapore and 100 registered sellers from Malaysia. Some 322 meetings between buyers and sellers are expected during the event . ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -- BERNAMA