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ASEAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT -
Implications & Future Directions Membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) will bring far reaching socio-political and economic benefits to Cambodia by enhancing and invigorating its domestic and foreign policy. Asean will enjoin Cambodia to manage its domestic political differences, strengthen peace and stability, and codify and execute its laws. Likewise, the current bilateral security arrangements and affiliation with the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) will enable Cambodia to forge vital commercial and security links abroad. Economically, Cambodia will benefit tremendously from Asean. AFTA has the potential to reorientate and reanimate the country's economy, albeit after potential initial revenue loss due to reduced border tariffs. By bolstering foreign investment confidence, it will encourage Cambodia's infant industries to flourish. Similarly, Cambodia's increased access to international resources and markets will eventually expand the country's manufacturing and export potential. As Cambodia constructs an Asean identity for itself and contemplates its new status in the regional and global order, this book makes effort towards empowering Cambodia in its quest for regional integration, peace and prosperity in the 21st century. About
the Editors Sarah Kanter is a Research Fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Co-operation and Peace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Copyright© ASEAN Academic Press London |
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