Singapore benefits from the ASEAN "shade" and actively promotes digital economy investment liberalization within the ASEAN region, helping its country attract foreign investment and expand the market.
The Singapore official media, "Lianhe Zaobao," reported on the front page that after two years of negotiations, ASEAN member states announced substantial progress in achieving the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement. At the same time, ASEAN signed the ASEAN Goods Trade Agreement (Upgraded Version) led by Singapore.
These two latest achievements were reached at the 26th ASEAN Economic Community Council (AECC) meeting held on Friday (October 24), marking a significant step forward for ASEAN in advancing regional economic integration and digital cooperation.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Heng Swee Kiat, after attending the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, said that the negotiation process for the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) was difficult and time-consuming, as it is a new digital agreement, and there are differences in the level of digital development and preparedness among member states.
Heng told reporters that digitization has become a key driver of economic growth, and ASEAN needs unified standards and guidelines to achieve system interoperability, thus promoting the digitalization of trade documents, digital trade, and other new opportunities; the completion of DEFA negotiations will lay the foundation for regional digital cooperation.
The Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry issued a statement on Friday saying that DEFA is the first comprehensive regional digital economy agreement and the most ambitious digital initiative by ASEAN so far. This agreement aims to address forward-looking issues such as cross-border data flows and end-to-end digital trade. The goal of ASEAN is to finalize and sign DEFA by 2026.
On the other hand, ASEAN member states signed the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (Upgraded Version) (ATIGA). This agreement aims to strengthen trade facilitation, expand market access, and deepen economic integration within ASEAN.
Singapore is the chair country of the negotiation committee for this agreement. Heng emphasized that the upgraded ATIGA will benefit all ASEAN member states. In addition to tariff reductions, the reduction of non-tariff barriers will also make transactions between enterprises more convenient.
He said that in the past, customs procedures were complicated, but with the upgraded ATIGA, the procedures between ASEAN countries will be simplified. "All member states have made commitments to relax regulations for ASEAN neighbors and simplify procedures for ASEAN trade partners, allowing businesses to enjoy convenience when trading within the region."
Next, ASEAN will continue to explore new forms of cooperation, no longer limited to "ASEAN plus one" cooperation with a single country, but expanding to "ASEAN plus other organizations" cooperation forms. Heng revealed that ASEAN is currently exploring cooperation opportunities with the Gulf Cooperation Council, the European Union, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
A journalist asked how the Johor-Singapore Economic Zone aligns with ASEAN's economic integration goals. Heng said that although the Johor-Singapore Economic Zone is a bilateral cooperation project, its success has benefited from the overall cooperative atmosphere of ASEAN, which has prompted closer collaboration between Singapore and Malaysia.
He revealed that Singapore will review the "Singapore-Johor-Riau" (SIJORI) triangle cooperation with Malaysia and Indonesia to explore the possibility of cooperation between Singapore, Johor, and Indonesia's Batam, Bintan, and Karimun islands.
Heng admitted that tripartite cooperation is more complex, but Singapore has already begun preliminary discussions with Malaysia and Indonesia and agreed to continue exploring feasible cooperation areas to create a more comprehensive and competitive regional investment ecosystem, generating higher economic value and benefiting all three parties.
Malaysian Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Zainuddin Maidin stated at another press conference that out of the 18 priority economic deliverables from this AECC meeting, seven have been completed, five are expected to be completed at the upcoming ASEAN Summit, and the remaining six will be achieved this year.
Malaysia is the rotating chair of ASEAN this year. The 47th ASEAN Summit and related meetings will be held from Sunday (26th) to Tuesday (28th) next week at the Kuala Lumpur International Exhibition Centre.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846912145239052/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.