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Laos's ASEAN Chairmanship In 2024 Aims To Boost Supply Chain Connectivity Across The Region

The Deputy Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Jerry Sambuaga, expressed his support for the progress made on the ASEAN Priority Economic Deliverables (PED) during the 56th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting held in Vientiane, Laos, on Tuesday (September 17). Representing the Minister of Trade, Jerry was accompanied by the Director General of International Trade Negotiations, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono. He highlighted three out of the seven PEDs under Laos' chairmanship that have been substantially completed. "ASEAN has successfully finalized three PEDs under the Laos ASEAN 2024 chairmanship. These include the ASEAN Declaration on Enhancing Supply Chain Connectivity, the Review of the Intellectual Property Cooperation Framework, and the Upgrading of the ASEAN-China FTA 3.0. The remaining PEDs will be completed by the Sectoral Bodies by the end of 2024," Jerry stated. Other ongoing ASEAN Economic Priority Achievements include the second protocol of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), a study on the ASEAN Single Window focusing on interoperability principles, a Digital Trade Standards Roadmap, and the ASEAN Unique Business Identification (UBIN) Roadmap. The meeting also covered updates on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) negotiations, sustainability initiatives under the ASEAN Economic Community, cooperation mechanisms with the Business Advisory Council, and the renewal of economic collaboration between ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). "Currently, 14 percent of the DEFA chapters have been completed, and the ASEAN Economic Ministers recommend building capacity on new issues to ensure the DEFA negotiations are wrapped up by 2025," Jerry added.

The 56th AEM meeting also covered the preparations for the ASEAN consultation with dialogue partners scheduled for September 19-22, 2024. After discussing the dialogue partners at the AEM level, Laos officially handed over the ASEAN chairmanship for 2024 to Malaysia, which will take over in 2025.

During the AEM, Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry had a bilateral meeting with Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong, on Tuesday (September 17). They talked about the progress of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), the Annual Ministry Dialogue (AMD) between Indonesia and Singapore, and the Indonesia-Singapore bilateral working group. Both sides agreed to enhance coordination and consultation to boost trade between Indonesia and Singapore.

Jerry also attended the AEM meeting with Daren Tang, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), on Wednesday (September 18). He highlighted several key points, especially WIPO's involvement in ASEAN. "WIPO's participation is crucial for supporting innovation, digital transformation towards ASEAN 2045, and speeding up the implementation of activities under the ASEAN-WIPO MoU. We need to kick off significant steps in digital transformation early on," Jerry concluded.

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Tag: ASEAN Jerry Sambuaga Priority Economic Deliverables WIPO