Cambodia leads doubts over AEC

7 April 2014
The Diplomat
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In a rare moment of honesty a Cambodian official has admitted his doubts about his country’s ability to meet regional expectations in time for the launch of the much vaunted ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of 2015. “If you talk about short-term: Yes, we are not ready,” Chuop Narath, deputy director of the department of employment and manpower at Cambodia’s Labor Ministry, said during a recent labor rights forum. ASEAN officials and senior ministers from each government of the 10-member trading bloc have been adamant—after several setbacks—that a single regional market would fly by the end of Myanmar’s turn as chair next year. However, doubts have persisted over their insistence, particularly in regards to poorer members like Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. This is in part due to the marked cultural differences within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). …

 Luke Hunt
http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/cambodia-leads-doubts-over-aec/