STRATEGIES OF MACRO-REGIONAL INTEGRATION ASSOCIATIONS ON THE EXAMPLE OF ASEAN

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the integration policy of the ASEAN countries. ASEAN includes countries with very different levels of economic development, population, and area, but this integration association is successful and plays an important role in the economic and political spheres in the Southeast Asian region. The article examines the ASEAN approach to regional integration, which is characterized by a “soft character”, in contrast to the European and North American approaches. The main stages of the development of the studied union and the circumstances that prevented the economic integration of the participating countries at the initial stage were analyzed. The main principles of ASEAN work, which are enshrined in the Bangkok Declaration of 1967 and the ASEAN Charter of 2007, are defined. The main directions and mechanisms of economic integration of countries are analyzed, namely: the agreement on the formation of a preferential trade zone, the agreement on the creation of a free trade area (AFTA), the framework agreement on the ASEAN investment zone (AIA), industrial cooperation schemes (AICO), the ASEAN framework agreement with services (AFAS). Also, the article provides an assessment of the main macroeconomic indicators of the participating countries and the union as a whole: GDP volumes in dynamics, the structure and dynamics of trade relations, the commodity and geographical structure of the union’s export-import operations. Problematic issues of the ASEAN integration association have been identified. The current state of cooperation between Ukraine and ASEAN was analyzed, including the volume of export-import operations in terms of the product structure, and prospects for the expansion of economic cooperation were also established. The paper draws conclusions about the success of the ASEAN development strategy and suggests ways to develop cooperation between ASEAN and Ukraine.