Burma will be included in talks on a new trade pact between the Association of South East Asian Nations and the European Union despite EU opposition to dealing with the military autocracy, the chairmanof the Asian grouping said yesterday.

Asean would negotiate collectively despite the political and economic differences between its members, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Philippines president, told the FT. "It was agreed that there would be negotiations between the EU and Asean as a bloc," she said.