More intra-Asean trading targeted

Thai trade rep meets bloc chief for talks

- POST REPORTERS

Asean must remain a proponent of the rules-based, open and inclusive multilateral trading system, Umesh Pandey, the Thailand Trade Representative (TTR), and Asean Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn agreed during talks on Tuesday.

They met at the Asean Secretariat in the Indonesian capital, stressing the need for greater intra-Asean trading to help offset the impact member states may feel from the ongoing tariff war.

Mr Umesh said they agreed that the bloc's goal of raising intra-Asean trade from 21.5% at present to 35%, as decided by the 10 member states, was a positive move for the region's economic momentum despite the possible upheaval on the horizon.