On 29 November 2004, the ASEAN leaders adopted the Vientiane
Action Programme, laying down the "goals and strategies" for bringing the
ASEAN Community to reality.9 Annexed to the VAP are "programme areas
and measures" for each of the three communities. Both the VAP and its annex
on the ASEAN Economic Community elaborate on recommendations of the
High-Level Task Force. On the same day, the leaders signed the ASEAN
Framework Agreement for the Integration of Priority Sectors, which further
formalized the measures agreed upon in the VAP. 10 Earlier in the day, the
Economic Ministers had signed 11 protocols, one for each of the priority
sectors. The protocols form integral parts of the framework agreement. Each
of them contains a set of measures common to all the goods sectors or one
common to all the services sectors, and another set specific to each goods or
services sector. 11 The task force recommendations, the VAP, the framework
agreement on the priority sectors, and the protocols are for the most part
consistent with one . another in terms of the individual measures and their
respective deadlines. The following section examines each of the principal
recommendations.