Australia, NZ welcome ASEAN proposal

Australia, NZ welcome ASEAN proposal

WELLINGTON: Australia and New Zealand Thursday welcomed a
proposal by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
to seek negotiations later this year on free-trade deals with
Australia and New Zealand.

"I haven't heard this through diplomatic channels yet, but if
the report is accurate, it signals a welcome breakthrough in our
relationship with Asean," New Zealand's Trade Negotiations
Minister Jim Sutton told The Associated Press in a statement.

"This is great news, and I look forward to exploring it
further," he said.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also welcomed the
prospect of free-trade talks, saying it would complement the
country's bilateral deals with two Asean nations, Singapore and
Thailand. The Singapore pact came into force last year and the
Thai agreement will take effect next year.

Australia and New Zealand signed a Closer Economic Relations
(CER) free-trade deal in 2002. Asean's 10-member states are
linked by a trade pact.

Sutton said New Zealand had been working for a trade deal with
Asean "for the past four or five years without getting more than
incremental progress each year." -- Dow Jones