Australia wants to begin negotiating a new economic agreement with ASEAN
members and other major neighbours later this year.
The ASEAN initiative got the
thumbs-up from Trade Minister Craig Emerson and his Singaporean counterpart Lim
Hng Kiang when the pair met for bilateral discussions in Canberra today.
An accord would potentially tie
the 10 ASEAN nations, which include Singapore, and six others - China, Japan,
Korea, India, New Zealand and Australia - in a formal trade partnership.
"We hope to be in a position
where leaders later in the year in November would be able to formally agree to
launch those negotiations," Dr Emerson told reporters in Canberra.
He said Singapore was a key
driver of trade liberalisation and was proud to be in such a strong alliance.
Both nations were committed to
investigating the "many paths to the mountain top", he said.
Mr Lim agreed they both sang from
the same "song shee", although he joked Dr Emerson was a much better
singer.
"He's just saying
that," Dr Emerson demurred.
Today's talks also brought
together the countries' foreign and defence ministers, with Afghanistan,
tensions in the South China Sea and tertiary education among the items up for
discussion.
AAP
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