Trade Minister Simon Crean today welcomed the commencement of Australia's largest free trade agreement .

The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA). The historic agreement will span 12 economies with over 600 million people and a combined GDP of AUD 3.1 trillion.

"The commencement of this agreement is a major milestone and opens up significant opportunities for Australian businesses in one of the fastest growing regions in the world," Mr Crean said. "With Asia leading the global recovery and six out of ten ASEAN markets expected to grow at rates at least double the forecast OECD average in 2010, there is great potential for Australian exporters to enter new markets.

"This agreement is also an important building block towards deepening Australia's economic integration with the dynamic Asian region." "As of today, the Agreement covers around 70 per cent of Australia's trade with ASEAN countries with which we do not have bilateral FTAs," Mr Crean said.