by Fithri Saifa | Nov 23, 2015 | Monitoring & Evaluation, News, Technical Reports
Officially released on 5 November 2015, the ASEAN Services Integration Report (ASIR) is a Joint Report by the ASEAN Secretariat and the World Bank aimed at contributing to the on-going discourse on ASEAN services integration and more broadly on regional economic integration. It is one of the key deliverables of the ASEAN Community Monitoring and Evaluation Program (AECMEP), a four-year collaborative program between the ASEAN Secretariat and the World Bank that concludes in 2015, and which was supported by the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II. ASIR takes stock of ASEAN’s achievements in services integration, including a focused assessment of ASEAN services policies; delineates the potential gains from further integration; and highlights the remaining challenges. It also puts forward recommendations for further development of ASEAN services agenda more broadly for post-2015. In particular, ASIR suggests areas beyond the services liberalisation commitments for which integration can be deepened and the benefits maximised, such as through regulatory cooperation. To download ASIR, click...
by Fithri Saifa | Nov 23, 2015 | News
Thirty-eight participants from various AMS agencies attended the Second Train-the-Trainer Workshop to Strengthen Technical Competency on Consumer Protection in ASEAN in Manila, Philippines last 5-7 October 2015. The workshop included break-out session covering three key areas, namely: 1) product safety and labelling; 2) phone, internet and e-commerce; and, 3) healthcare services. A previous workshop in Ha Noi, Vietnam dealt with consumer credit and banking, environment, and professional services. These workshops are subsumed under the project “Strengthening Technical Competency for Consumer Protection in ASEAN” intended to support the need for improved technical and institutional capacity within consumer protection agencies in ASEAN. It is an offshoot of 2011 AADCP II funded project, “Roadmapping Capacity Building Needs in Consumer Protection in ASEAN” which highlighted the human and institutional capacity gaps and recommendations for consumer protection agencies in AMS. Detailed information on the Manila workshop can be found...
by Fithri Saifa | Sep 17, 2015 | News
“Strengthening Technical Competency for Consumer Protection in ASEAN” is one of the projects that stemmed from the “Road-mapping Capacity Building Needs in Consumer Protection in ASEAN” which AADCP also supported in 2011. The project intends to build and/or strengthen capacity of government agency personnel through the design, development and delivery of training programs, modular components and materials, focusing on technical requirements involving consumer concerns and demands in 6 core areas, namely: 1) Product safety and labelling; 2) Phone and internet services, and e-commerce; 3) Consumer credit and banking; 4) Environment; 5) Healthcare services; and 6) Professional services. In addition, it incorporates a range of “soft skills” required to facilitate customer redress such as how to handle and resolve complaints. The first training workshop covering the 1st cluster of issues (Consumer Credit and Banking, Professional Services and Environment) took place in Hanoi, Vietnam from August 31 to September 2, 2015. Manila, Philippines will be the venue of the next training workshop on October 5-7, 2015 encompassing the remaining issues. ...
by Fithri Saifa | Aug 3, 2015 | News
A five-day pilot training workshop was convened by ASEAN Secretariat in cooperation with UNCTAD on 27 – 31 July 2015 at the ASEAN Secretariat. The workshop was attended by representative of consumer protection agencies from the ASEAN Members States and relevant divisions of the ASEAN Secretariat such as Health and Communicable Diseases Division and Trade and Facilitation Division. The objective of the workshop was to confirm and finalise the 20 training modules and materials targeted for consumer protection enforcers. It is to ensure that the training modules are adaptable and replicable for AMS to tailor it to into country-specific contexts. The training modules cover six areas as identified in the AADCP II Project Report on “Road-mapping Capacity Building Needs in Consumer Protection in ASEAN” (AADCP report) in 2011. These areas are: Product safety and labelling; Phone and internet services, and e-commerce; Consumer credit and banking; Environment; Healthcare services; and Professional services. Once finalised the training modules will be used to deliver training program, AADCP II will support two pilot training program targeted for senior officials of consumer protection agencies in third quarter of this year. It aims at building a group of ASEAN consumer protection trainers from relevant government agencies who can then deliver and support colleagues in undertaking the training in the future and able to feed competencies gained into the development of consumer protection in their countries which later contribute in raising the level of compliance with consumer protection laws and regulations in their respective...
by Fithri Saifa | Jul 30, 2015 | News
A two-day consultative meeting for development of a ten-year Strategic Plan supporting ASEAN integration in the area of consumer protection was held on 1-2 July 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The meeting was attended by representatives of consumer protection agencies from the ASEAN Members States and the ASEAN Committee on Consumer Protection, that is in charge of the implementation and monitoring of regional arrangements and mechanisms on consumer protection in ASEAN. At the meeting, the officials discussed the consumption and consumer behavioral trends, and the corresponding impact on consumer protection needs both at regional and national levels in order to draw up Strategic ASEAN Action Plan for Consumer Protection (SAAPCP) Action Plan 2016-2025. It is expected the detailed five-year implementation plan will guide the ASEAN Committee on Consumer Protection’s work in the post – 2015 scenario to ensure consumer protection systems are in place in the region. This will enhance the region’s competitiveness and support its integration process. Hosted by the Indonesian Competition Agency, the meeting is part of the project “Post – 2015 Consumer Protection Action Plan”, supported by the ASEAN – Australia Development Cooperation Program (AADCP) Phase II. Additional information on AADCP II support to ASEAN consumer protection sector can be found...
by Fithri Saifa | Jul 30, 2015 | News
Recognising the importance of services for economic growth and job creation and an ambitious regional integration program that includes services, a recent research to inform policy maker on ASEAN Integration Services was jointly conducted by ASEAN Integration Monitoring Office of ASEAN Secretariat in cooperation with the World Bank. The Report takes stocks of the status of services reforms and integration, the achievements made by AMS and way forward recommendations. As an effort to form a shared understanding of challenges and emerging trends on services trade and integration issues among policy makers and officials and other relevant stakeholders, on 18 – 19 June 2015 a meeting titled ASEAN Services Forum on Regional Integration of Services in ASEAN Countries: Progress and Challenges was held at ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Indonesia. The forum, jointly hosted by the ASEAN Secretariat, Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), and the World Bank, with the support from the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCPII) presented and discussed the findings of the joint publication ASEAN Secretariat-World Bank ASEAN Services Integration Report (ASIR) as the main material for the discussion. The forum was attended by ASEAN policy makers and relevant stakeholders in the region such as representatives from Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia, Ministry of Planning and Investment of Viet Nam, The Malaysian Central Bank, the Philippines Civil Aeronautics Board, and Indonesia Services Dialogue. Prominent services experts in the region and beyond such as Asian Development Bank Institute, the World Bank, Centre for International Trade and Investment (CITI), the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) and Australia-Indonesia Partnership on Economic Governance (AIPEG) participated in the...
