The Association of South-East Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) recently signed a trade agreement with the US , which experts say will lead to more trade and investment alliances between the two regions. The agreement was signed between the US trade representative Susan Schwab and ministers of the 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) at a recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement will initially focus on three projects: one, creating a common system for the entry of goods; two, a framework for sanitary issues relating to agricultural goods; and, three, developing standards for phar- maceutical registration and approval to speed up the delivery system of new medicines to ASEAN patients