The year under review saw intensive efforts made to assist Vietnam to prepare for her admission as the seventh member of ASEAN.

Vietnam formally applied for membership on 17 October 1994. In the application letter, the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Mr. Nguyen Manh Cam, stated that Vietnam would fulfil the obligations and conditions in the ASEAN Declaration of 1967, the ZOPFAN Declaration of 1971, the Declaration of ASEAN Concord of 1976 and the Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Secretariat.

The ASEAN Secretariat sent officials to Hanoi in September 1994 and March 1995 to brief Vietnamese officials from various Ministries on AFTA and other ASEAN activities. This was followed by Vietnam sending two groups of officials to the ASEAN Secretariat on attachment under a programme funded by the Ford Foundation. Altogether eight Vietnamese officials from the ASEAN Department of the Foreign Ministry, the Trade Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the Office of the Government and the Party External Relations Commission were trained at the ASEAN Secretariat under a programme funded by the Ford Foundation from 15 February - 14 April 1995, and from 15 April - 14 June 1995. The ASEAN Secretariat was also successful in obtaining funds from the UNDP to organize study tours by senior Vietnamese officials to ASEAN capitals and the ASEAN Secretariat.

The ASEAN Economic Ministers held consultations with the Vietnamese Trade Minister. Mr. Le Van Triet in Chiang Mai on 25 September 1994. The Ministers agreed to cooperate to ensure the smooth integration of Vietnam into ASEAN's economic cooperation arrangements, especially the CEPT Scheme for AFTA.

As a result of the Chiangmai meeting, a delegation of ASEAN Senior Economic Officials (SEOM) visited Vietnam in January 1995 to hold consultations with their Vietnamese counterparts and to observe the economic infrastructure in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. Subsequently, SEOM set up . Working Group to examine ways and means of integrating Vietnam into the CEPT Scheme and in all other ASEAN economic cooperation arrangements. The Working Group held its first meeting with the Vietnamese Vice Minister of Trade, Mr. Mai Van Dau at the ASEAN Secretariat on 19 April 1995.

In April 1995, the AFTA Council welcomed Vietnam�s intention to accede to the Framework Agreement on Enhancing ASEAN Economic Cooperation and the Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) immediately upon her entry into ASEAN. While recognizing that some flexiIbility should be given to Vietnam, the AFTA Council made the following suggestions, which were endorsed by the ASEAN Economic Ministers at the AEM Retreat in Phuket: (1) Upon her membership in ASEAN Vietnam extends MFN Treatment and National Treatment to ASEAN Member Countries informed of all the changes in her regulations and law which effect her trade with them; (2) ensure transparency in its trade regime; (3) Vietnam starts her implementation of the Agreement on CEPT for AFTA on I January 1996 on the basis of a mutually agreed package of concrete steps and (4) submit a schedule for the implementation of the remaining products with a specific time-frame by September 1995.

ASEAN - Laos

In April 1995, Laos established the ASEAN Division in the Asia, Pacific and Africa Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The move reflected the growing importance Laos has attached to strengthening relations with ASEAN.

At the ASEAN-Laos consultative meeting during the 27th AMM in Bangkok in July 1994, Laos requested training assistance in banking, finance, investment management, promotion of tourism and English language, among others.

ASEAN has offered to cooperate with Laos in human resource development. At the bilateral level, ASEAN Member Countries have provided Laos with assistance in this area, including English language training. Others, such as India, have also expressed interest in training Lao officials.

Meetings of ASEAN Committees on functional cooperation re open to Laos' participation as a. Observer. Laos as well as Vietnam has taken part in the ASEAN-EC Three-Year Plan of Action on Preventive Drug Education. SEOM has agreed to hold consultations with Lao senior economic official, to explore potential areas of cooperation.

Plans were being finalized to hold AFTA seminars in Vientiane and to invite Lao officials to visit ASEAN capitals and the ASEAN Secretariat to increase their understanding of activities in ASEAN. The UNDP is poviding some of the funding for these activities.

ASEAN - Cambodia

One of the milestones in the ASEAN-Cambodia relationship was the visit of the Secretary- General of ASEAN to Phnom Penh from 7-11 December 1994 as a guest of the Foreign Minister of Cambodia. The visit followed the application of Cambodia for Observer status in ASEAN submitted on 25 October 1994.

During the visit, the Secretary-General paid a courtesy call on Second Prime Minister Hun Sen. Mr. Hun Sen emphasized that the Royal Government of Cambodia as paying serious attention to strengthening ties with ASEAN in order to achieve concrete results for mutual benefit. He saw Cambodia's application for Observer status as a major step towards membership in ASEAN.

As part of her quest for Observer status, Cambodia acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in January 1995. The Cambodia Foreign Minister, Mr. Ung Huot, presented Cambodia's instrument of accession to the Chairman of the ASC, Foreign Minister Prince Mohamed Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam from 24-25 January 1995. At the meeting, the Cambodian Foreign Minister reiterated the desire of Cambodia to be accorded Observer status in ASEAN and to be invited to participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

To prepare for increase participation in ASEAN activities, Cambodia has set up the ASEAN Department within the Ministry. of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The Cambodia-ASEAN liaison office has also been established at the Cambodian Embassy in Jakarta to maintain close contact with the ASEAN Secretariat.

ASEAN welcomed Cambodia as an Observer in a ceremony on 28 July 1995 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Cambodia also participated in the Second ARF in Bandar Seri Begawan on 1 August 1995.

Preparations are being made to conduct AFTA seminars in Phonm Penh and to train Cambodian officials at the ASEAN Secretariat. Cambodia will begin to attend various ASEAN meetings that are open to her as an Observer.

East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC)

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers met their counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (6 & 3) on 25 July 1994 in Bangkok during the 27 AMM/PMC and discussed aspects of the EAEC. The Ministers agreed that similar meetings will be held in the future.

Two attempts were made to arrange a meeting of the 6 + 3, the first in New York in September 1994 during the last General Assembly Session and the second in Phuket in April 1995 during the AEM Retreat, but both fell through for various reasons, A 6 + 3 lunch during the 28th AMM in Brunei Darussalam is now being planned.

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

For the period under review numerous APEC meetings were held at officials level. It also held six ministerial level meetings on finance, trade, small and medium scale enterprises, transport and communications and the annual APEC Ministerial Meeting. The APEC Economic Leaders met in Bogor on 15 November 1994 and adopted the Bogor Declaration which called for an accelerated, balanced and equitable economic growth not only in the Asia Pacific region but throughout the world as well. In facing the challenges of the twenty- first century, the Leaders also reiterated the need to reinforce economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific region on the basis of equal partnership, shared responsibility, mutual respect, common interest and common benefit.

The Bogor Declaration agreed to adopt the long-term goal of free and open trade and investment in the region no later than the year 2020. To achieve this goal, the APEC Economic Leaders agreed that the pace of implementation will take into account the differing levels of economic development among the APEC economies, with the industrialized economies achieving the goal of free and open trade and investment not later than year 2010 and the developing economies no late than the year 2020.

ASEAN Member Countries, continued to participate actively in the APEC process. Philippine, presented a Work Plan on Human Resource Development in APEC and proposed the convening of in APEC Ministerial Meeting o Manpower to be held in early 1996. Philippines has also initiated the construction of an APEC Center for Technology Exchange and Training for SMEs. Thailand is actively promoting the APEC Volunteer Program and will host the APEC Symposium on Investment in October 1995.