Members of the 10-strong Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have agreed to speed up plans to form a single economic community.
Comprising countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, Asean hopes to compete better against fast-growing economies such as China and India.
Asean leaders now hope to establish a single trading market similar to the European Union as early as 2015.
They are also currently in talks to liberalise trade with the US.
The developments came as Asean economic ministers were meeting for talks in Kuala Lumpur.
Efficiency drive
"We all agreed that we should move in that direction [establishing a free trade region]," said Asean secretary general Ong Keng Yong.
He added that member nations also realised that they had to speed up work to make their economies more efficient.
The 39-year-old Asean group began liberalising trade between its members in 1993.
Its plan for a single market would allow free flow of goods, services and investment, but stops short of proposing a new single currency.
Asean hopes to announce a reduction in tariffs between it and the US later this week.
Its full membership is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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