Cambodia: Rich-poor gap hinders ASEAN integration
Southeast Asian nations must redouble efforts to bridge development gaps which threaten the region’s efforts to create an EU-style single market, Cambodia’s prime minister said Monday. Building an ASEAN economic community by 2015 is the “top priority”, Hun Sen said as he opened the annual meeting of economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Cambodian tourist hub of Siem Reap. Emulating the European Union’s example, ASEAN wants to establish a single market and manufacturing base of about 600 million people – a goal that has been spurred by intensifying competition from China and India. …
