At the consultation, the two regional blocs reaffirmed their commitment on working toward the ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement. The parties said they would instruct senior economic officials to intensify their work and come up with appropriate recommendations to be presented at the next ASEAN Economic Ministers-EU Consultation. Both parties said they were happy with progress made in the implementation of the 2015-2016 ASEAN-EU Trade and Investment Work Programme. Last year, ASEAN-EU two-way trade stood at 219 billion USD, an 11 per cent increase year-on-year. The EU remains ASEAN's second largest trading partner.
