ASEAN targets to complete economic priorities in 2023
The 55th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM-55) taking place from August 17-22 in Semarang, Indonesia, with 19 sessions and nine flagship activities will discuss regional important issues.
Jakarta (VNA)– The 55th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM-55) takingplace from August 17-22 in Semarang, Indonesia, with 19 sessions and nineflagship activities will discuss regional important issues.
The AEM-55 is the last in aseries of AEM meetings under Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023. Its results will be reported to the ASEAN Economic Community Counciland the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta this September.
Indonesian TradeMinister Zulkifli Hasan said the AEM-55 has three main goals. The first one isto fulfil the ASEAN chair’s economic priorities in 2023, such as the signingof the Protocol for the Second Amendment of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FreeTrade Agreement.
The meetingis also expected to ratify documents related to the ASEAN Digital EconomicFramework Agreement, ministerial statements related to the ASEAN IndustrialProjects Initiative Framework, the Terms of Reference (ToR), and a fundingagreement to establish a support unit for Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) agreement by 2024.
The second goal is to strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and its dialogue partners andstrategic partners.
According to Hasan, theother goal of AEM-55 is to strengthen cooperation between business entities inASEAN and partner countries.
According to the AsianDevelopment Bank, ASEAN's economic growth reached 5.1% in 2022 and is forecastto reach 4.6% and 4.9% in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
In 2022, ASEAN's tradeturnover reached 3.8 trillion USD, up 14.9% compared to 2021. China is stillASEAN's main trading partner with two-way turnover reaching 722.2 billion USD,accounting for 18 8% of the total trade turnover of the region, followed by theUS (10.9%) and the European Union (7.7%).
Meanwhile, intra-ASEANtrade accounted for 22.3% of total trade turnover, up from 21.3% in 2021. Interms of investm༺ent, total capital poured into ASEAN reached 224.2 billion USღDin 2022, an increase of 5.5% compared to 2021./.
The 19th Coordinating Conference on the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (19th SOC-COM) with the theme “The Post-2025 ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community” has been held via video conference.
The ASEAN-Business Advisory Council (BAC) is fostering partnerships with a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform and the Indonesian Joint Funding Fintech Association (AFPI) to support digital payment transformation.
The ASEAN digital economy market reached 194 billion USD in 2022 and Indonesia contributed up to 40%, said Rizal Edwin, expert staff for Digital Transformation, Creativity, and Human Resources at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of Indonesia.
The Republic of Korea (RoK), China and Japan agreed on May 3 to reinforce the regional financial safety net, along with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), by launching a new financing facility programme meant to extend greater support in case of a financial crisis.
A technical issue combined with an extreme heatwave was blamed for a series of explosions at a military base that killed 20 soldiers and injured several others in Cambodia on April 27, the country’s Ministry of Defence said in a May 2 statement as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
The Customs Department of Thailand is scheduled to commence the collection of value-added tax (VAT) on imported goods sent via postal services, regardless of the goods value, starting in May.
A lecturer from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine has warned Thais to be more vigilant against COVID-19, saying infection rates appeare to be worsening with higher hospital admissions, deaths and severe cases.
Malaysia should harness the collective expertise and resources to drive sustainable growth and development of the halal industry, according to Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
Laos has officially restored the 10% value-added tax (VAT) rate starting May 1, in a bid to support the country’s budget revenue and socio-economic development.
The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) entered its second plenary session in Hanoi on the afternoon of April 23, discussing ways to ensure comprehensive security for the people-centred ASEAN Community.
The first session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) in Hanoi on April 23 focused on fast and sustainable growth for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and the ASEAN Alliance on Carbon Markets (AACM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration and accelerate the implementation of carbon crediting programmes across Southeast Asia.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed ASEAN leaders' commitment to empowering the youth to unleash their full potential when he had a dialogue with ASEAN youth in Hanoi on April 22 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Future Forum (AF 2024).
The Thai Government is being urged to increase the proportion of renewable power generation to more than the target of 50% set in the power development plan (PDP).
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
Pasir Panjang port in Singapore. (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
