PHNOM PENH, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The 16th ASEAN finance ministers' meeting wrapped up here on Friday with an agreement to intensify economic and financial cooperation for realizing the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, said a joint statement released after the meeting.
"The ASEAN finance ministers together with the troika of ASEAN central bank governors of Indonesia, Cambodia, and Brunei reaffirmed our commitment to maintain growth and development momentum and financial stability of the region in the face of difficult global challenges," said the statement.
It added the ministers exchanged views with the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund on policies to maintain stability in the current environment and called on them to continue to pursue innovative projects and assistance to better serve the needs of the ASEAN economies.
"We agreed to take all necessary actions to sustain growth and preserve the stability of financial markets," Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Keat Chhon said in a press briefing after the meeting.
He said the ministers were also pleased that the ASEAN economies grew by 4.5 percent last year despite the heightened uncertainties in the global economy.
"We are confident that our economic expansion would remain healthy this year, with projected GDP growth of between 5.6 percent and 6.3 percent," he said. "Nonetheless, we agreed to maintain vigilant against downside risks such as further contraction of external demand, tighter global financing conditions, higher oil prices, and volatile global capital flows."
Keat Chhon said the ministers also agreed to continue intensifying efforts to build stronger integrated financial markets to achieve the ASEAN Economic Community.
Addressing about the ASEAN economic situation at meeting on Friday, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda said within ASEAN, Indonesia should continue robust growth on strong domestic demand, while Brunei will return to its trend growth thanks to high petroleum prices.
Thailand and the Philippines, both of which suffered a severe drop in exports toward the end of last year due to supply chain disruptions, are expected to show vibrant growth.
He said Singapore, and to some extent Malaysia, will experience some slowdown, as they will be affected more by external conditions.
Vietnam continues to battle inflation, whilst Myanmar is expected to accelerate reforms, he added.
"But, importantly, we expect growth in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam--the so-called CLMV countries--to continue to outpace growth in middle-income ASEAN," he said. "All in all, despite a difficult external environment, we still expect ASEAN growth this year to remain robust at 5.2 percent."
The 16th ASEAN finance ministers' meeting was attended by ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors as well as representatives of Asian Development Bank, World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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