Leaders from Pakistan, China and other countries, calling for regional integration, have vowed to build Asian community while working together to improve the living-condition of their people. At the conclusion of the two-day annual conference held here under the auspices of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), former President Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari who represented Pakistan assured that his country would continue playing an active role in promoting peace and development in the region.
"A strong Asia is the common aspiration of people, Pakistan wishes to strengthen regional organisations to promote their common interests," he said.
Constituting of a body like European Union in Asia was still far away, said participants, but East Asia was well on its way to create an East Asian community.
Speakers from South Asia said their part of the continent, while working to meet a similar goal to that of East Asia, was already seeking opportunities to link the two areas.
A BFA official talking to APP here Monday said that delegates, with a common pledge, put forward various ideas and opinions on the issue.
Chairman Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's National Committee, Jia Qinglin said trade and economic co-operation would pave way for all-round co-operation in politics, security, social development and culture. "Starting from economic integration, we will gradually build a regional co-operative framework with a rich content, broad scope and complete mechanism," he said.
A major achievement of East Asia's co-operation was the ASEAN plus three dialogue - the co-operative mechanism between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China, Japan and South Korea. The mechanism helped create a favourable atmosphere for co-operation at different levels throughout the region and laid a foundation for building the East Asian community said Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmed Badawi at the forum.
"The East Asian Community that I am referring to is not composed of carefully defined objectives, rules and procedures but broadly constructed norms, attitudes and behaviours. It is all about creating social and economic capital, not military power houses," Badawi remarked.
Vice-chairman Nepal's Council of Ministers, Kirti Nidhi Bista said that South Asia was also taking steps to further co-operate. "Both regional and sub-regional initiatives can help us develop our complementarities to better harness the potentialities amongst us for the benefit of our people. We hope to achieve these objectives through collective efforts, which in turn, would contribute to the promotion of inter-regional co-operation,"
To reach an equal footing with other regional economies such as European Union and North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), Asia should accelerate economic integration, said Moon-Soo Chung, economic policy adviser to the president of South Korea.
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