However, really determining the country's status within Asean will take another eight years when Asean Vision 2025 wraps up and will be evaluated. Now the former battlefield of Indochina has been transformed into a regional powerhouse that propels Asean economic development and investment. As the country moves toward a digital economy, migrant workers are pivotal to the pursuit of hi-tech modernisation by policymakers. The government's economic team has not paid sufficient attention to shoring up the Asean Economic Community. This is simply due to the lack of clear understanding among the officials involved of the Asean vision and the purpose of having an Asean lane as stated in the Asean Charter.

Source: Bangkok Post July 31, 2017 21:33 UTC