Second day of 53rd ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting, launch of OECD Competition Assessment and Competitive Neutrality Reports on Logistic Sector in ASEAN hold

Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations U Aung Naing Oo participated in the second day of the 53rd ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting via videoconference on 9 September 2021 from the office of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations.
The Meeting was chaired by Dato Dr Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II of Brunei Darussalam and attended by ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM), Senior Economic Officials (SEOM), Secretary-General of ASEAN Secretariat and representatives.
During the meeting, the ministers noted the implementation status of the Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) of Brunei Darussalam under its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2021 and ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF) and urged the sectoral bodies to intensify the efforts for the timely completion of the ongoing works. The ministers exchanged views on economic policies in the context of sustainable development as a post-COVID-19 recovery strategy and acceleration of digital economic integration and endorsed the Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap: An ASEAN Digital Transformation Agenda to Accelerate ASEAN’s Economic Recovery and Digital Economy Integration. In addition, the ministers noted and provided guidance on the recommendations of the High-Level Task Force on Economic Integration (HLTF-EI), the report of Chair of Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting and the report of Task Force Entry into Force of Future Provisions of ASEAN Economic Agreements.
The ministers also discussed the preparation for ASEAN Economic Minister and its Dialogue Partners meeting with China, Korea, Switzerland, US, Hong Kong (China), India, EU, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Plus Three (China, Korea and Japan), East Asia and the UK which will be held from 13 September to 15 September 2021.
Deputy Minister U Than Aung Kyaw attended the morning session on behalf of the Union Minister. The Deputy Minister welcomed the progress of the Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) of Brunei Darussalam. He also supported the Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap and suggested including the plan for capacity building and technical assistance in the implementation of the Roadmap taking into account the different levels of digital readiness and capacity.
The Joint Media Statement of the 53rd ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting was adopted at the end of the meeting.
In the afternoon, Union Minister joined the launching ceremony of the OECD Competition Assessment and Competitive Neutrality Reports on the Logistic Sector in ASEAN via video conference. ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM), UK Minister of State, Secretary-General of OECD, Secretary-General of ASEAN Secretariat and representatives participated in the ceremony.
At the ceremony, Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN gave the opening remarks. Dato Dr Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II, Brunei Darussalam, Mr Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of OECD, Rt Hon Greg Hands MP, UK Minister of State (Minister for Trade Policy) also delivered the remarks. After that, OECD handed over the reports to the ASEAN Economic Ministers.—MNA