Leaders of 16 Asian nations who attended East Asian Summit (EAS) in Thailand in April have said they are against trade protectionist measures, as the world faces severe economy crises.
In a joint statement issued here yesterday by Chairman of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) and EAS coordinator, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, the leaders agreed that a prompt and balanced conclusion to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha Development Agenda negotiations was necessary and would help in the global economic recovery.
"As a further sign of our commitment we pledge to minimise the trade-distorting impact of our fiscal stimulus measures and industry support polices, and agree to work together with other countries to this end," Vejjajiva said on behalf of the 16 countries — the 10 Asean states, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand.
The leaders of these countries were supposed to issue a similar statement at the Asean 6 Summits in Pattaya in April which was postponed after anti-government protesters stormed the meeting venue and forced its cancellation. They are now expected to meet from Oct 23 to 25 in Phuket in Thailand.
