since the blue paint for the a.e.c. was first penned in 2007, it was always in advicaged to greater economic incident allegation would be the ultimate goal. according to figures up to 2014, the economic blocks combined g.d.p. grew and foreign investment increased. much of that success has been down to small and medium business enterprises. >> he employs 20 people at this tire factory. its annual turnover is more than $3.5 million. he has plans to expand and export more if trade barriers can be removed. tech savvy entrepreneurs have begun to trade beyond malaysia. his taxi booking app has been downloaded by 4 million customers in the six asean countries where it operates. it's taken 20 years of negotiations to get this far and this is still only the start. >> i think asean will continue to move forward slowly and will be correct to do so. it's keeping its peoples with them. i think as governments keep that goal in mind and they keep making it into a real single market, there will be huge gains to be made for the people of

the aims of the newation community agreement known as the a.e.c. is to create a single economic market, one com settive within the region according to asean physician, the economic blocks combined g.d.p. grew 4.6% and foreign increased by nearly 16%. much of that success has been down to small and medium business enterprises. >> employing 100 people at this tire factory he set up 20 years ago, its annual turnover is more than $3.5 million. he has plans to expand and export more if trade barriers can be removed. tech savvy entrepreneurs have begun to trade beyond malaysia. his tax see booking app is downloaded by 4 million. this is still only the start of economic integration. >> i think asean will continue to move forward slowly and it will be correct to do so. that's the reason it hasn't faced the problems like the e.u. is facing. it's keeping its people with them. as they make it into a real single market, there will be huge gauges for the people in asean. >> asean is in no russia. analysts say the steady, cautious approach has been a strong point