Transcript of DPM and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong’s media doorstop on the 26th ASEAN Economic Community Council Meeting

I am very happy to be here to attend the 26^th ASEAN Economic Community Council (AECC) Meeting. This is the last (ASEAN) Economic Ministers’ meeting just before the ASEAN Summit, which will be held shortly at the end of this week. We have had a very fruitful and productive year under the Chairmanship of Malaysia, and we are very happy that we have achieved many of our key Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) that we have set out to achieve.

One very important deliverable is the upgrade of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA). This is a very important Agreement, one of the most important economic agreements among ASEAN countries that facilitates trade in goods and reduces tariffs, and at the same time also removes or reduces non-tariff barriers to facilitate trade and encourage smoothening of customs procedures and so on. We are very happy that the ATIGA has been upgraded. Today, we signed the agreement among all the ASEAN countries.

This agreement is important partly because Singapore chairs the negotiating committee, but that is not the most important reason. Actually, the most important reason is because it is a signal to the rest of the world that despite the very challenging global environment, ASEAN has made up our minds that we are determined to continue to strengthen our ASEAN integration and cooperation. This is a very important message that we want to move forward. We want to continue to explore areas and opportunities to work together.

That is also the reason why, beyond the ATIGA, we have also made significant breakthrough in the digital economy and green economy. As many of you are aware, ASEAN has been negotiating the Digital Economy Framework Agreement. It has taken some time, because it is a very complex agreement. It is not the usual traditional trade agreements, which we are familiar with. It is a new form of digital agreement, and as you are also aware, different countries are at different stages of digitalisation and readiness for this Agreement.

So we need to make sure that at the same time, we want to accommodate the capacity and the capability of different countries, but we also want to make sure that the agreement is an ambitious one. We want to push the boundaries, and we want to encourage members to be more ambitious, (while) at the same time, recognising that different countries have different concerns and constraints. Therefore, this agreement, it is a very difficult agreement, but we are very happy that we have achieved a substantial conclusion today and we will move on to the next stage, which is finalising the agreement by next year and signing it so that it will provide a platform, a foundation for ASEAN members to come together to cooperate on the digital platform.

This is also very important because, as all of us know, digitalisation has become a key driver for economic development and growth, and it is important for ASEAN members to find a way to harmonise our standards, our guidelines, so that our systems are interoperable. We can then encourage members to move towards digitalised trade documentation, digital trade and many other opportunities and possibilities. And that is why this serves as a very important foundation for ASEAN to come together to embark on this digital economy agreement.

Having achieved substantial conclusion on the Digital Economy Framework Agreement, we are now also beginning to discuss and explore opportunities in the sustainability-related economy – how we can work together on some of these areas that are of common concern to all ASEAN countries. This is a new area that we are studying and exploring to see how we can work together as well.

But beyond just focusing on integrating ASEAN and strengthening ASEAN, we are also looking at how ASEAN can expand our engagement and contacts with the rest of the world. So, it is not about just within ASEAN, but also ASEAN with the rest of the world. That is why we are beginning to push ahead with engagements with our partners – our dialogue partners and trading partners. In this respect, we are happy to also have completed the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade. This is also a major achievement within this year, and we are now negotiating an upgrade of several other FTAs. These are in progress.

Beyond these traditional FTAs, we are also looking at how ASEAN can also cooperate with other trading countries and trading groups to work together. Usually, for ASEAN, for example, usually we have trade agreements and dialogue relationship with another country – so ASEAN plus one. But this new approach is ASEAN with another group, so it is not just with one country. One example is the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). We are in discussions with them on how we can talk to each other, look at how GCC and ASEAN can work together. Eventually, they may or may not become a part of ASEAN or we may or may not be able to establish an FTA between the groups, but it doesn’t stop us from exploring ways to collaborate. So, GCC is one example.

We are also reaching out to the EU, for example, to see how we can look at the specific areas that we can cooperate on with one another. It is going to be very difficult to have an EU-ASEAN FTA, because they are very different economies and many different complex conditions and situations. But it doesn't stop us from exploring specific areas, whether is it digital or any other specific areas that we can work on together. So, EU and ASEAN are also talking about working together.

ASEAN is also talking about a collaboration with the CPTPP. As you know, several ASEAN members are already members of the CPTPP and a number of countries have also signalled that they want to join the CPTPP. It may not be possible for every member to become CPTPP members, but it is still possible for ASEAN and the CPTPP to have a dialogue to see how we can share ideas, share experiences, and explore ways that we can work together, including things like the supply chain  resilience, and food security, and many other possibilities that we can discuss. These are new areas of exploration that ASEAN is working on, and therefore we have adopted a forward-looking approach.

This underscores the important belief that ASEAN members have and that is, there are always these opportunities for cooperation and collaboration, not just competition and contestation. Even amongst the ASEAN countries, there will be competition and contestation but there are always opportunities for us to come together to cooperate and collaborate. That is why all these agreements, all these engagements signal the desire and determination of ASEAN to move forward and to find ways to work together as we journey forward. I think this is a very important approach that ASEAN has taken.

Malaysia’s year of ASEAN Chairmanship is coming towards a final conclusion, the climax (will be) at the Summit which will be held shortly. We are very happy to see significant progress under Malaysia’s Chairmanship for ASEAN Economic Ministers. I want to congratulate Minister Zafrul for a very successful Chairmanship, holding the ASEAN cooperation and economic affairs. We look forward to The Philippines’ Chairmanship next year when they take over, and we discussed earlier at the meeting that Singapore is ready to step forward and to engage The Philippines and work together to ensure that next year is another successful year for ASEAN. Thank you.