(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-04 17:07

DA NANG CITY - The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed here on Friday a Protocol to Implement the 4th Package of Commitments on Financial Services under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services.

During the fourth round of negotiations on ASEAN financial services in the 2005-2007 period chaired by the Philippines, all members of the association pledged stronger liberalization of sub-sectors of the services.

Ten ASEAN finance ministers, who inked the protocol in Vietnam' s central Da Nang city, are expected to make announcement on the next round of negotiations, slated for completion by 2010, on Friday afternoon.

The ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services aims at enhancing cooperation in services among member states, eliminating substantially restrictions to trade in services among the ASEAN member countries, and liberalizing trade in services by expanding the depth and scope of liberalization beyond those undertaken by the states under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) with the aim to realizing a free trade area in services.

At the 12th ASEAN Finance Ministers' Meeting on April 4, the finance ministers are to touch upon global and regional economic situations, the ASEAN Economic Community, the ASEAN Charter, the region's financial and monetary integration roadmap, the ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea financial cooperation, and the intra-block cooperation in such other areas as capital market and customs.

ASEAN comprises of Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.