ASEAN focuses on Economic Integration, use of EVs, ASEAN Blue Economy Farmework, utilization of FTAs

The 44th Meeting of the High-level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) was held in Lombok, Indonesia, on 29-31 July 2023. Dr Wah Wah Maung, Deputy Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations who is also the Lead of Myanmar HLTF-EI attended the meeting.
The HLTF-EI leads discussed matters pertaining to the development of the ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision particularly from the perspective of the AEC pillar, the status implementation of Priority Economic Deliverables under Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023 and the implementation of the Comprehensive Compliance Monitoring (CM) assessment of the AEC Blueprint 2025, the implementation of ASEAN’s sustainability agenda including the development of ASEAN Strategy on Carbon Neutrality, the use of Electric Vehicles and its enabling ecosystem, developing ASEAN Blue Economy Framework for sustainable development of the ASEAN region, and also promoting utilization of the signed ASEAN Free Trade Areas (FTAs).
The ASEAN’s work on Good Regulatory Practices, the progress of the implementation of Consolidated Strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution for ASEAN, and the implementation of Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap on an ASEAN Digital Transformation Agenda to accelerate ASEAN’s Economic Recovery and Digital Economy Integration were also discussed at the meeting. Moreover, the meeting discussed the recommendations for the consideration of the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting which will be held on August 2023 and the ASEAN Economic Council Meeting which will be held on September 2023.
The meeting was chaired by Mr Edi Prio Pambudi, Deputy Minister for International Economic Cooperation Coordinating, the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Indonesia and attended by the leads and representatives of the High-level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration from the ASEAN Member States, the deputy secretary-general and officials from the ASEAN Secretariat. The Chairmanship for the HLTF-EI meeting has been handed over from Indonesia to Lao PDR at the end of the meeting. Lao PDR will be the chair and host of the incoming 45th HLTF-EI meeting.
The High-level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) is a think-tank group of the ASEAN Economic Community and the group meeting is held twice a year to discuss the future work of the ASEAN Economic Community. — MNA