Fortune Manning Partner, Rob Coltman, recently returned from the global AGM in Frankfurt, Germany of Interlaw, an international association of independent law firms around the world of which Fortune Manning is the New Zealand member.
The focus of the global AGM was international transport and logistics, in which sector Fortune Manning has a strong presence locally.
One initiative arising from the Interlaw AGM is to focus on coordinating roles for the various Asia Pacific based member law firms in the proposed ASEAN – Australia – New Zealand free trade area (AANZFTA).
Following the recent East Asia leaders summit in Thailand the ten ASEAN member states of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam along with Australia and New Zealand have announced that the AANZFTA will come into force on 1 January 2010.
The AANZFTA spans 12 economies with over 600 million people and a combined GDP of US$2.6 trillion. The AANZFTA, once implemented, will substantially reduce barriers to trade and goods and services, opening up a wide range of opportunities for economic activities in the region. Rob Coltman comments that Interlaw's Asia Pacific grouping of firms in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Manila, Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong, and their focus on customs, trade, transport and logistics will provide assistance to traders looking to benefit from the opening of barriers.
