KUALA LUMPUR: ASEAN chair Malaysia aims to conclude the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) this year to prepare the Southeast Asian region for digitalisation.
Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry’s (MITI) senior director of ASEAN Economic Integration Division, Sugumari S Shanmugam, said several issues urgently needed to be looked at, such as the development gaps between ASEAN member countries, before DEFA is concluded.
“Negotiating DEFA is a serious challenge because of the different levels of development, understanding, technical knowledge, and capacity building that need to be done.
“We are also confident that we can move this with the help of experts. Several workshops have been undertaken to assist ASEAN member countries to understand what is needed concerning DEFA and how we can move forward towards this,” she added.
Sugumari said this during a panel session titled “ASEAN as a Middle-Class Society: Building a Sustainable ASEAN” at the ASEAN Economic Opinion Leaders Conference: Outlook For 2025 here yesterday.
DEFA, which is tipped as the world’s first regional digital economy agreement, aims to accelerate ASEAN’s transformation into a leading digital economy that fosters greater digital cooperation and paves the way for regional digital integration and inclusive growth and development. – BERNAMA
