Kuala Lumpur Declaration on establishment of ASEAN community signed today

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Sunday 22 Nov 2015 - 14:08 Makkah mean time-10-2-1437 ASEAN leaders (AP photo) Kuala Lumpur (IINA) – The leaders of 10 Southeast Asian countries inked on Sunday a historic declaration on the formation of the ASEAN Community by 31 December 2015 that entails greater integration of this region of over 600 million people, BERNAMA reported. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is 2015 ASEAN chairman, was joined by the leaders of nine other Southeast Asian countries in signing the 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Community. They also inked the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together, a document that spells out the way forward for the community in the next 10 years. Established after the grouping's 48 years of existence, the ASEAN Community is based on three pillars, namely the ASEAN Political and Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. In his opening remarks at the event, Najib said there was so much that the community stood to gain economically that would benefit the daily lives of all its citizens. It has been forecast that ASEAN's gross domestic product (GDP) would reach $4.7 trillion by 2020, and become the fourth largest economy in the world as early as 2030. With the advent of the Community, Najib said: "We've now have raised the bar and expectations of our people, and we're charged with meeting the aspirations of our younger generation, and of those to come." He pointed out that ASEAN leaders needed to echo the conclusion of the Bangkok Declaration of 1967 signaling the birth of ASEAN, by binding together in friendship and cooperation. "This will be done through joint efforts and sacrifices to secure for our people and for posterity the blessings of peace, freedom and prosperity," Najib said. "The ASEAN Community is a landmark achievement on the way to reaching those goals," he added. AB/IINA