KUALA LUMPUR: The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), in partnership with the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), convened an in-country workshop on Monday to support Malaysia’s leadership in shaping the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).
In a statement, USABC said the workshop served as a strategic platform to deepen understanding and alignment on DEFA through public-private dialogue and sharing of best practices, aimed at ensuring a timely and high-standard implementation of the agreement.
“The discussions highlighted Malaysia’s strong commitment to advancing regional digital integration under its leadership as ASEAN chair in 2025, with DEFA serving as a key driver for inclusive and sustainable economic growth,” USABC noted.
The session brought together private sector leaders and industry associations, who exchanged insights on how DEFA can enable fair, safe, and competitive digital trade while fostering innovation across ASEAN. Participants also discussed ways to align Malaysia’s national digital initiatives with DEFA provisions, especially in data governance, trade facilitation, and non-discriminatory treatment of digital products.
USABC emphasised that collaboration between government, industry, and academia is essential to building a trusted, interoperable, and innovation-driven digital trade ecosystem. Such a framework, it added, would empower businesses of all sizes, including micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to expand regionally and globally.
“With ASEAN targeting the substantial conclusion of DEFA by the end of 2025, USABC reaffirms its commitment to supporting the region through close engagement with governments, capacity-building initiatives and expert-driven dialogues. USABC and its member companies remain dedicated to advancing public-private partnerships that drive digital transformation, regulatory coherence and inclusive growth across ASEAN’s digital economy,” the Council said.
The workshop received support from Amazon, Google, and Mastercard, underlining the role of leading global tech players in driving ASEAN’s digital trade agenda.
Source: Bernama
