The Minister made the call at the 19 th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ Meeting (AFMM-19) and the first ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Joint Meeting, which wrapped up on March 21 in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia .

At the AFMM-19, the ministers reached high levels of consensus on developing the regional financial market in anticipation of the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), while pledging to work closely together to accelerate the financial and monetary integration process after the AEC takes shape in late 2015.

They also agreed to promote the ASEAN Forum on Taxation (AFT) in a bid to speed up tax harmonization while recognizing the progress in customs cooperation, including the successful implementation of the one-stop-shop mechanism in seven ASEAN member countries.

The ministers signed a protocol on the legal framework for the implementation of the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) to facilitate trade in the bloc.

Meanwhile, the joint meeting between Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors agreed to push the implementation of the initiative of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) on harmonising and mutually recognising regulations on capital markets.

The joint meeting issued a statement urging ASEAN member nations to continue implementing their commitments to boosting regional economic growth and financial stability; and pledging to press ahead with the AEC’s goals as well as activities under the Roadmap for Monetary and Financial Integration for ASEAN.

On the margin of the meetings, the ministers met with the ASEAN-US and US-EU Business Councils to enhance dialogues between policy makers and the business community.