The live online discussion is now closed. A transcript is available here.

Intra-Asian trade is rising and so is the number of Asia’s free-trade agreements. Join ADB trade experts Ramesh Subramaniam and Jayant Menon in a live discussion.

• What is the chance of an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015 or a Trans-Pacific Partnership linking Asia and the Americas?
• Just how easy is cross-border trade elsewhere in the region?
• Free trade is critical for sustaining growth and prosperity, so how can Asia contribute in making trade freer?

Access the chat here or send your questions in advance here or through Facebook or Twitter.

When: 1400-1500 Manila time/0600-0700GMT on Thursday, 7 March 2013.

Ramesh Subramaniam

Ramesh Subramaniam is Senior Director at ADB's Office of Regional Economic Integration (OREI) where he manages four teams dealing with the pillars of its Regional Cooperation and Integration Strategy: Trade and Investment; Monetary and Financial Integration; Infrastructure Connectivity; and Regional Public Goods. His research and work over the last 22 years has focused on policy and institutional change in developing Asia.

Jayant Menon

Jayant Menon, Lead Economist (Trade and Regional Integration) of ADB’s Office of Regional Economic Integration, specializes in a range of trade, international finance, and development issues. Backed by an extensive professional experience as an economist and academic, he has authored over 100 academic publications mostly on trade and development in Asia. He also serves as co-editor of the ASEAN Economic Bulletin.