អាស៊ាន ASEAN

            Asean is an association of countries in southeast Asia. It is made up of ten countries including Cambodia. They are Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Myanmar(Purma), Laos, Vietnam, Singapore and Cambodia.

            In 1967, the Minister of Foreign Affair from five of these counties held important negotiations in Bangkok, which focused on possible union of countries in the region. After three days of lively discussion, on the 8th of August, they succeeded in reaching an agreement and set up and association of ASEAN, which stand for “The Association of Southeast Asia Nations”. During the late 1980s, ASEAN played an important part in ending in Cambodia. Eventually, after long negotiations in Hanoi in April 1999, the membership of Cambodia was accepted and it joined as ASEAN’s tenth member.

            ASEAN was originally set up during the Vietnamese War to support democracy in southeast Asia. The main purpose is to increase economic development, provide security and help keep in the region. These useful intentions are clearly indicated in the original 1967 joint agreements. In January 1992, ASEAN members agreed to set up a free market area and to cut tax on most import over a 15-year period beginning in 1993.