At the 11th ASEAN Summit in December 2005, the ASEAN Leaders discussed the
acceleration of the AEC implementation from 2020 to 2015 and requested the
concerned Ministers and Senior Officials to study its possibilities. Subsequently, the 9th
High Level Task Force (HLTF) Meeting on ASEAN Economic Integration in Singapore
discussed and recommended it to the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM). Thus, the
ASEAN Secretariat was tasked to develop “a single and coherent blueprint for
advancing the AEC, by identifying the characteristics and elements of the AEC by 2015,
consistent with the Bali Concord II, with clear targets and timelines for implementing
various measures and pre-agreed flexibilities for the interests of the Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Vietnam (CLMV) and other concerned Member Countries.” In their August
2006 Meeting, the Ministers recommended the acceleration of AEC implementation.
Likewise, they agreed to endorse and propose it during the 12th ASEAN Summit in
Cebu, Philippines.