DEPUTY Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong announced today negotiations for the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) are slated for completion by the end of this year.
In a release by the ministry on procedings at the Dewan Rakyat today, he said, this ambitious timeline underscores Malaysia's commitment to driving regional digital integration during its 2025 ASEAN chairmanship.
"The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) identified DEFA as one of the priority economic deliverables under the 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship," Liew stated, emphasising Malaysia's role in steering the core regional economic integration agenda outlined in the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, which prioritises equitable development and bridging the development gap among member states.
Towards this end, he said, Malaysia emphasised two main approaches to launch the DEFA negotiation process, the first of which is a programme to enhance the policy capabilities of ASEAN member countries."
“The first approach focuses on building capacity in complex and emerging areas of digitalisation.
"The focus (in the first approach) is given to more complex and cutting-edge areas of digitalisation, especially in the use of digital technology, data management and cyber protection in the trade chain," Liew explained.
"The second approach emphasises the implementation of DEFA in stages and phases, as practiced by ASEAN in the formation of the Economic Community, especially pertaining to the free trade agreement," he said during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat.
Liew was responding to a query from Datuk Ahmad Amzad Mohamed@Hashim (PN-Kuala Terengganu) regarding Malaysia's measures to ensure DEFA effectively addresses digital development disparities and promotes inclusive digital transformation across ASEAN.
The Deputy Minister highlighted that the alignment of DEFA with Malaysia's national aspirations would lead the nation to be digitally driven and a regional leader in the digital economy by 2030, which in line with the national agenda.
"He said this aligns with national policies such as the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint and sectoral policies managed by MITI, namely the National Trade Blueprint and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030."
Liew assured that Malaysia's national interests and stance will be safeguarded during the DEFA negotiations by leveraging these policy initiatives as a foundation for preparation.
He reiterated the government's commitment to ensuring ASEAN's readiness to finalise DEFA, thereby maintaining the region's global competitiveness and achieving sustainable economic and socio-economic benefits.
"The government will continue strategic efforts to ensure the level of readiness of ASEAN countries in finalising the DEFA so that the region and Malaysia remain competitive at the global level, in order to achieve sustainable economic and socio-economic benefits," he said.
