Participants from the ASEAN region at the closed door discussion session (Credit: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute)
The half-day event was held at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore, and was attended by 50 participants from policy-making, businesses as well as research institutes.
As a general finding, the closed-door session highlighted that the ASEAN E-commerce Agreement should embrace harmonised and transparent cross-border e-commerce regulations. It should follow international standards and should ensure inclusivity, especially for the small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The session also emphasized the role of regular dialogues between ASEAN policymakers and businesses to ensure both parties work together to reap the potential benefit of the e-commerce sector in the region.
Panellists and moderator from Session 1 on Customs and Trade Facilitation (Credit: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute)
The key findings and recommendations on both the issues of customs and trade facilitation and cross-border data flow were presented to the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on E-Commerce (ACCEC) on 20th April 2018.
Participants deep in discussion at one of the breakout sessions (Credit: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute)
Panellists and the moderator from Session 2: Cross-Border Flow of Information (Credit: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute)