The history of
the MEA begins with a mutual agreement at the Summit which was held in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, which produced a shared vision of Southeast Asian countries
(ASEAN Vision 2020). The goal is to make the Southeast Asian region a
prosperous region with equitable economic development and development in each
of its member countries.
The summit in
Bali, Indonesia in October 2003 produced similar results to the 1997 summit. At
the summit in Bali, the leaders of the ASEAN countries stated the importance of
integrating the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as a major objective in the
integration of economic behavior in the regional region will be implemented in
2020.
The next summit in 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia gave birth to a new consensus. The contents stated that the year of the entry into force of the MEA was advanced. Which initially in 2020 became 2015. The consensus gave birth to a declaration called the Cebu Declaration. With the signing of the Cebu Declaration, the consensus decision from year to year becomes a concrete step to make ASEAN a free trade area that includes all components of economic activity. Starting from goods, labor (skilled), investment, capital, to services.
The Purpose of Establishing AEC
- Creating a single market that includes ASEAN countries as well as a production base with relation to the elements of free economic activity products, such as labor (educated / skilled), duty free for the flow of goods and services from the ASEAN region, and investment in and out and capital flows to countries in the region.
- Making ASEAN a region with high economic competitiveness marked by strengthening regulations in economic competition, including consumer protection, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), taxation, smooth e-Commerce activities, and infrastructure development
- Spread the economic empowerment of the ASEAN region with the main goal of revitalizing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially for the countries of Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam (CMLV). As is known with the CMLV country has long and repeatedly been plagued with a variety of political, social and cultural issues that affect the security of the country. Thus, as summarized in the ASEAN Vision 2020 and the ASEAN Concord II Pact, the AEC was created with the intention to evenly distribute the economy throughout the region.
- Integrate the regional economy with the global economy with the basic aim of increasing ASEAN's participation in the global policy arena. All done with a coherent approach between the regional and global economies. This certainly is one of the positive sides because later input from ASEAN countries is considered important.
The purpose of establishing AEC in accordance with the pact in the Cebu Declaration certainly provides a new style for the economic characteristics of the AEC region. These characteristics can be described as follows:
- The economic climate of the region has become more competitive.
- Efforts for economic equality within the scope of countries joined in ASEAN.
- Integration of the global economy and remote areas to become a production base and single market.
In my opinion, the existence of the MEA is very helpful for the people of Indonesia, because MEA can help product makers both in villages and cities to introduce their products internationally, and can make Indonesian people work abroad and can promote education abroad.
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