JAKARTA, 13 October 2018 – ASEAN representatives participated in a workshop as part of the implementation progress of the Standards and Conformance Strategic Plan 2016 -2025 in Jakarta on 12 October.

ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality (ACCSQ) is developing a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) mechanism to track and report on the implementation of the Standard and Conformance Strategic Plan. The workshop was held to review and improve the current compliance monitoring mechanism of ACCSQ to adapt to evolving needs, and to further align the activity of ACCSQ to the M&E framework of the ASEAN Integration Monitoring Directorate (AIMD).

The workshop was attended by officers of ASEAN Secretariat’s Standards and Conformance Division, AIMD, Science and Technology Division (STD), ASEAN Stats, and a representative from ACCSQ Indonesia.

The workshop focused on the AIMD’s M&E Framework, the Standards and Conformance Strategic Plan, international best practices in M&E, M&E methods, data collection tools and setting indicators. It also included a hands-on session on developing indicators that were closely aligned to the SMART principle. The workshop provided a platform for sharing, discussing and planning among the participants an effective M&E mechanism.

The ASEAN Economic Community has envisioned ASEAN as a region that operates as a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region that promotes equitable economic development and a region that is fully integrated into the global economy. One of the key enablers to help achieve this vision is market integration of ASEAN in trade in goods through the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement which has been mandated to the ACCSQ. With this mandate, the ACCSQ is responsible for eliminating technical barriers to trade which is incorporated in The Standards and Conformance Strategic Plan 2016 -2025.

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