New Zealand, Australia, and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are to launch negotiations towards a Free Trade Agreement, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said in a statement in Wellington on Wednesday.

This agreement is a significant trade breakthrough and an opportunity to build closer links with New Zealand's ASEAN neighbors, Clark said in the statement.

Clark said that five ASEAN countries were among top 20 trading partners of New Zealand and the region accounts for more than 8 percent of New Zealand's exports. A free trade agreement would mean better access for New Zealand to a market of over half a billion people.

"More important still, an FTA would help to strengthen New Zealand's strategic ties with a region which is very significant to us," the prime minister said.

New Zealand already has a free trade agreement with Singapore. A new agreement with Thailand is also being announced, and New Zealand is studying the benefits of launching negotiations with Malaysia in 2005.

It is believed that negotiations on a New Zealand-Australia FTA with ASEAN will get underway early in 2005.

The FTA announcement came at the end of an historic commemorative summit meeting in Vientiane, Laos.

For 30 years New Zealand and Australia have been dialogue partners with ASEAN. In the three decades since, the relationship has grown beyond governmental contacts to include a wider range of economic, academic and people-to-people links.

"New Zealand is moving to become more closely engaged with the countries of South East Asia. With today's announcement of negotiations towards an FTA, we have the opportunity to take another important step in the development of this very important regional relationship," Clark said.

Source: Xinhua