SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak said here on Wednesday that the economy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is projected to grow 5 percent this year, up from 3 percent last year.
"ASEAN continues to ensure the free flow of essential goods and services related to food security, sustainability, and resilience of the supply chains, in which the GDP of the ASEAN region is expected to grow approximately from 3 percent in 2021 to 5 percent in 2022 and 5.2 percent in 2023," he said at the opening ceremony of the 54th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting and related meetings.
Sorasak said ASEAN has been intensifying its efforts, in a proactive manner, to recover regional economy towards high growth with sustainability, inclusiveness and resilience.
He added that the bloc's economic ministers are committed to working together to build an inclusive, sustainable and resilient ASEAN community in the post-COVID-19 crisis.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) country director for Cambodia Jyotsana Varma said ASEAN economic cooperation has been an important ingredient for the region's economic success.
"Through its open trade and investment policy, the ASEAN region has become a key player and important hub in global trade and production network," she told Xinhua.
Varma said that looking to the future, the ASEAN economic cooperation will become even more entrenched as crisis forges stronger cooperation among ASEAN economies.
"This stronger regional cooperation in the future will build the region's resilience as it provides a buffer for the region to withstand possible global shocks in the future," she said.
Cambodia is hosting the 54th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting and related meetings (AEM), including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ministers' meeting, the East Asia Summit economic ministers' meeting and the AEM-Dialogue Partners Consultations, from Sept. 14 to Sept. 18.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. ■
