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- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was founded 40 years ago, on August 8, 1967. Since that time, the organization has played a significant role in supporting and maintaining regional peace and security, and fostering economic cooperation among the member nations, including Thailand, which has been an important and active member.
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- Economic cooperation has become ever broader and deeper within ASEAN, and Thailand has actively participated in the deliberations through a number of mechanisms at every level, from the top-level ASEAN Summit, the meetings of ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM), and the Senior Economic Officers Meetings (SEOM), and the Working Groups.
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- Thailand has made significant contributions to various successful economic cooperation programs and arrangements under the ASEAN framework including the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS), the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA), the ASEAN Industrial Co-operation (AICO) scheme. Currently, it also actively supports the establishment of an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, with the objective of creating a single market and single production base within the ASEAN region, enabling a free flow of goods, services, investment, skilled labor, and freer flow of capital among the member countries. ASEAN has begun implementation of this objective through a 'sector-based' approach in economic cooperation, with 11 priority sectors of goods and services selected as a pilot program to be completed by 2010. The priority sectors are agro-based products, fisheries, wood-based products, rubber-based products, textiles and apparels, automotives, electronics, information and communication technology, healthcare, tourism, and air travel. Recently, logistics were added to the list, with a completion date of 2013.
- To ensure efficient implementation of these mechanisms, ASEAN has improved its dispute settlement mechanism both in terms of greater transparency and strengthened legal binding in the fulfillment of its commitments and to increase confidence of foreign investors. Thailand signed the ASEAN Protocol on Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism in November, 2004.
- In addition to its participation in ASEAN, Thailand is also holding negotiations at various stages of completion relating to free trade areas and economic cooperation with ASEAN dialogue partners, comprising China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, the United States of America, and Canada.
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