ECONOMIC officials have concluded negotiations for the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) in a key step toward digital integration across the region.
All outstanding negotiation issues were said to have been “successfully resolved” during a May 27 to 29 meeting in Manila by senior Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) officials.
“This marks the successful conclusion of the negotiations on Asean’s first regionwide digital economy agreement and a major milestone in advancing the … vision of a digitally integrated, secure, interoperable, competitive, and inclusive regional economy,” conference chairman Marie Sherylyn Aquia said in a statement on Saturday.