The Association of Southeast Asian Nations continued to develop during the year under review, gaining steadily in economic strength, political cohesion and international recognition. Despite the difficulties arising from the worldwide recession, ASEAN sustained the highest economic growth rate of any region in the world. It has intensified and accelerated its programme of cooperation which has substantially contributed to the stability and prosperity of the ASEAN region, enhancing at the same time the political solidarity of its own member countries. The highlights of ASEAN's considerable progress in regional cooperation in the fields of trade and industry, energy, food, agriculture and forestry, finance and banking, transport and communications, as well as in the areas of social development, information and cultural exchanges, and science and technology, are recounted in the relevant sections of this report.