A US envoy will discuss trade issues with Southeast Asian economic ministers gathering in Singapore next week, and also urge the region to pressure military-ruled Burma toward democracy, the US Embassy said Friday.

Activists wearing masks depicting Asean leaders protest outside the Singapore embassy in Bangkok November 16. Activists in both Thailand and the Philippines staged protests in front of the Singaporean embassies on Friday to urge Asean leaders to play a tougher role against Burma’s junta. [Photo: Reuters]

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab arrives in Singapore Sunday for a two-day visit to meet with economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, a regional grouping starting its annual summit Monday in Singapore.

“Asean countries together are our fifth largest trading partner, and Southeast Asia is one of the most rapidly growing, economically vibrant regions in the world,” Schwab was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the US Embassy in the city-state.

Schwab will discuss the progress made on an expanded trade and investment pact between Asean and the US, the region’s No. 1 trading partner, since its signing in August last year, the statement said.

The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, or TIFA, is a nonbinding pact between the 10-member Asean and Washington to enhance cooperation. Initial programs outlined include support by Washington on a project to harmonize procedures and create a common custom system for the trade of goods within the region and between the region and the US.

The TIFA also addresses pharmaceutical regulations and sanitary issues in specific agricultural goods, a key sector for both sides.

While in Singapore, Schwab will urge key players in the region to step up pressure on Burma, a member of Asean, for genuine democratic reform, the statement said.

“Ambassador Schwab will use the meetings to underscore US concerns about the situation in Burma and its failure to make a serious commitment to a meaningful and time-bound dialogue toward national reconciliation and a peaceful transition to civilian democratic rule,” the statement said.

When Schwab signed the TIFA in August last year with economic ministers of the group, she made it clear that Washington would not lift economic sanctions or shift its stance toward Burma over its poor human rights record.

The US has a free trade agreement with Singapore and is currently negotiating another FTA with Malaysia. It says similar discussions with Thailand are on hold until a democratically elected government is in place.

Following her meetings in Singapore, Schwab will visit Cambodia on Tuesday to discuss efforts to improve the Southeast Asian country’s investment climate and ways to support implementation of its commitments under a bilateral trade agreement.

Asean was the fourth largest export market for the United States in 2006, with US shipments totaling US $57 billion.