When the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) create their economic community of more than 600 million people next year, they plan a swift debut on the world stage. ASEAN’s secretary general, Le Luong Minh, said last week the integrated economies will pay particular attention to expanding commercial partnerships with countries in Africa and Latin America. Minh told the new South African ambassador to ASEAN, Pakamisa Sifuba, the community sees the economies of Latin America and Africa as natural partners not only for trade, but also for promotion of issues such as United Nations reform.
