JAKARTA, 27 November 2020 – The ASEAN Secretariat organised a virtual Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the Joint Business Councils on 26 November, as part of the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 Mid-Term Review (MTR) exercise.
The FGD aimed at drawing out business insights and perspectives on the outcomes and impact of the AEC and the AEC Blueprint 2025 implementation, and the way forward for the next phase of AEC Blueprint 2025 implementation.
Twenty-five senior executives from eight Joint Business Councils took part in the FGD. Relevant ASEAN Secretariat staff members also attended the discussion.
Within the context of the AEC, participants shared their views on three main themes: (i) enhancing economic integration; (ii) increasing competitiveness and increasing participation in global value chains; (iii) and sustainable and inclusive AEC.
The imperative to accelerate the work on non-tariff measures, streamlining cross-border processes, achieving greater regulatory coherence, fostering inclusive digital transformation, promoting human capital development, and embracing sustainability and inclusivity considerations, were among the key highlights of the discussion.
The results of the discussion will feed into the final report of the MTR on the AEC Blueprint 2025, which is expected to be finalised in early 2021. Meanwhile, a similar event is being organised by the ASEAN Secretariat for ASEAN businesses.
The event took place with support from ARISE Plus Programme.
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, followed by Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.Menu - WHAT WE DO
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