MALAYSIA has reaffirmed its leadership role in advancing ASEAN’s economic integration by hosting the 12th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Statistics of International Trade in Services (WGSITS12) in Port Dickson from 8 to 9 September 2025.
Convened by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the meeting brought together representatives from all ASEAN Member States (AMS) and the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEANstats) to chart a course for the future of trade in services data across the region.
In his address, Chief Statistician of Malaysia and Chair of the 15th ASEAN Community Statistical System Committee (ACSS15), Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, described the meeting as “a vital platform for ASEAN to reinforce cooperation, enhance comparability, and improve the quality and timeliness of trade in services statistics in line with international standards.”
“Credible and forward-looking statistics are essential to inform ASEAN policymaking, economic integration, and sustainable development,” he said, emphasising the need for regional data systems to keep pace with digitalisation, new business models, and evolving investment flows.
“Through WGSITS, we ensure ASEAN’s statistics remain relevant, comparable and trusted to support evidence-based decision-making and resilient regional growth,” he added.
The forum allowed delegates to evaluate the progress of past initiatives and collaboratively develop the next five-year work plan for 2026–2030. Central to the discussions were the harmonisation of data collection, dissemination practices, and alignment with the broader ASEAN economic agenda.
The delegates also examined mechanisms to deepen cooperation under the ASEAN Help ASEAN framework and considered updates on forthcoming international statistical guidelines likely to shape the landscape of services trade data in the years ahead.
ASEAN’s international trade in services posted a robust performance in 2024, growing by 12.2 percent to USD1.3 trillion. Exports increased by 14.0 percent to USD667.9 billion, while imports rose by 10.2 percent to USD618.5 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of USD49.3 billion. Intra-ASEAN trade in services also saw healthy growth, with exports climbing 13.1 percent to USD92.0 billion and imports up 13.3 percent to USD85.9 billion, making up nearly 14 percent of the region’s total services trade.
Malaysia used the occasion to share its national strategy for compiling Statistics on International Trade in Services (SITS), highlighting initiatives to improve data quality, timeliness and scope. The presentation also reflected Malaysia’s broader vision to harmonise survey systems, engage more deeply with key stakeholders, and tackle statistical challenges through innovation and technical refinement.
The outcomes of WGSITS12 will help shape ASEAN’s statistical priorities as part of the ASEAN Economic Community Strategic Plan 2026–2030 and the region’s post-2025 development vision. Malaysia, as incoming ASEAN Chair, pledged continued leadership in promoting inclusive, high-quality, and resilient statistical systems across the bloc.
In its broader commitment to transparency and data governance, Malaysia recently topped the 2024/25 Open Data Inventory (ODIN) global rankings published by Open Data Watch, rising dramatically from 67th position in the previous cycle. The report, which covers 197 countries, evaluates the coverage and openness of official statistics.
To reinforce the value of data in policymaking, Malaysia has declared 20 October as National Statistics Day (MyStats Day), adopting the theme ‘Statistics: The Pulse of Life’. The date also coincides with the Fourth World Statistics Day, celebrated globally under the theme ‘Driving Change with Quality Statistics and Data for Everyone’.
Malaysia’s open data platform, OpenDOSM NextGen, remains a key public resource for data visualisation and access, and is available at [https://open.dosm.gov.my](https://open.dosm.gov.my). - September 10, 2025
