ASEAN urged to make progress on trade deals

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MANILA, July 30 (AFP): Southeast Asia must ratify free trade deals with China and South Korea, and make progress on a similar accord with Japan, as the bloc prepares its own free-trade zone, the Philippines said Monday.
At a key meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Philippine President Gloria Arroyo urged the bloc to make progress on those deals as it tries to meet a 2015 target for an ASEAN free-trade zone.
"We are actively strengthening our economic linkages not only within the region but also with our dialogue partners," she said in her opening address to the gathering.
"Deepening integration on this level would mean completing and eventually forging the individual FTAs (free-trade agreements) ASEAN is currently working out with these (three) countries," Arroyo said.