by Irene Wijaya | Mar 21, 2022 | Cross Cutting Issues, Projects
Status: Ongoing. The ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF) and its Implementation Plan were endorsed at the 28th ASEAN Coordinating Council Meeting on 10 November 2020, and, subsequently, adopted by ASEAN Leaders at the 37th ASEAN Summit on 12 November 2020. The ACRF serves as ASEAN’s community-wide exit strategy from the COVID-19. It recognises the multifaceted impact of the pandemic, and the need to work together through the phases of recovery; from reopening, rebuilding and to long-term resilience. The ASEAN Secretariat will provide the necessary support to regularly monitor the progress of ACRF implementation of the identified initiatives and programmes against their corresponding outputs and deliverables. In addition, the ASEAN Secretariat will also support the updating of the Implementation Plan. The monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of ASEAN COVID-19 recovery is crucial to assess the effectiveness of the ACRF and its implementation plan, and will be undertaken by the ASEAN Secretariat, with possible external support. This project will support the ACRF monitoring and implementation, specifically through the establishment of an ACRF Support Unit, and the development and initial operationalisation of the ACRF Support Unit. It will support various activities to be undertaken by the Unit, including advocacy and awareness building activities, and analytical work to promote implementation of the ACRF. A series of infographics have been prepared through this project in the first quarter of 2022 to increase general awareness of the ACRF. View the infographics...
by Irene Wijaya | Mar 8, 2022 | Cross Cutting Issues, Projects
Status: Completed. ASEAN recognizes the potential of e-commerce, as well as its importance in serving as a catalyst for economic recovery in light of the covid-19 pandemic. To reflect its importance, several initiatives in the area of e-commerce, including an ASEAN trust mark for e-commerce platforms, were included in the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF), which was adopted by ASEAN Leaders during the 37th Summit in 12-15 November 2020. The ASEAN Trust Mark Scheme for E-Commerce is essential to supporting the ASEAN governments to align their respective legislation on e-commerce with best practices to address the issues relating to legal compliance, data handling, consumer protection, and anti-counterfeiting. The ultimate goal of the project is to promote a trusted e-commerce environment across ASEAN by eliminating bad or unfair trade practices while strengthening protection for online commerce consumers. The project is expected to enable ASEAN in advancing the establishment of regional trust mark scheme by providing tailored practical recommendations on a comprehensive trust mark mechanism. The key objective of the Study is to assess the costs and benefits of implementing a potential ASEAN Trust Mark Scheme for E-Commerce (“Scheme”), provide an understanding of the existing national trust mark mechanisms within ASEAN, as well as provide policy options for the introduction of the Scheme for ASEAN Member States’ (AMS)...
by Irene Wijaya | Oct 18, 2021 | MSME & private sector engagement, Projects
Status: Completed. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are key players in the economies of ASEAN. However, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, they are largely vulnerable to impacts of disasters due to their limited resources and widespread informality. This project is designed towards enhancing MSMEs crisis and disaster resilience through the development of a set of guidelines that will provide recommendations of appropriate and timely measures to minimise the impact of future disasters and crises on MSMEs. The guidelines will serve as reference for ASEAN policy makers to push forth MSME resilience including the provision of skills and risk awareness programs. At the same time, it will advocate for the institutionalisation of safety nets to support MSMEs to cope and recover from these shocks as well as strengthening MSME value chain and smarter supply networks. This project is a follow on to one of the key recommendations arising from the earlier AADCP II supported project on the Mid-term Review (MTR) of the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development 2016 – 2025 (SAP SMED 2025), which highlighted the need for ASEAN Member States (AMS) to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that their crisis management skills are relevant and adaptable to changes. Download the Guidelines: Enhancing the Resilience of MSMEs to Crises and Disasters: Regional Guidelines for ASEAN Governments [PDF, 4,000...
by Irene Wijaya | Jun 30, 2021 | Cross Cutting Issues, Projects
Status: Completed. ASEAN Digital Master Plan 2025, recently adopted at the First ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting (ADGMIN) in January 2021, placed a high priority on the development of a framework that encourage the development and growth of digital start-ups in ASEAN to support the increased capacity for business and people to participate in the digital economy. The project will identify and verify the key factors that affect the growth of digital startups in ASEAN and, based on the findings, develop a policy framework to promote digital startups. It is envisaged that once the framework is established and adopted, relevant ministries in the ASEAN Member States (AMS) will make best practice-based policies that will nurture/foster startup ecosystems, particularly in promoting growth of digital startups in their respective...
by Irene Wijaya | Jun 10, 2021 | Projects, Services
At the 36th ASEAN Summit on 26 June 2020, the ASEAN Leaders agreed to commence the process toward ASEAN’s recovery effort from the COVID-19 pandemic. The ASEAN tourism sector, which has been severely impacted, is working towards rebuilding travellers confidence and increase the number of domestic and international visitors. This project will develop comprehensive common guidelines and standards for safer and healthier work environment for tourism workers/professionals and communities, in order to support that effort. As ASEAN is working toward single tourism destination as envisioned by the Leaders, it is crucial that all 10 AMS have a common understanding on the expectations and standards being applied in each other’s country, and that businesses/ industry players in the region have a common reference for implementing hygiene and workplace safety protocols. The output of this project will be the ASEAN Common Guidelines on Hygiene and Safety for Workers and Communities in the Tourism Industry. The guidelines will consolidate, adapt and harmonise the various existing international and national standards, best practices and guidelines and AMS’ national health and safety protocols. Adoption of the guidelines by ASEAN Member States and implementation of the guidelines by industry players and service providers will not only bolster confidence among domestic and international visitors to ASEAN destination but also contribute to the establishment of the recovery plans of ASEAN...
by Irene Wijaya | Jun 10, 2021 | Connectivity, Projects
This project responds to the first objective under the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 Strategic Area of Sustainable Infrastructure of increasing public and private infrastructure investment in each ASEAN Member State (AMS), as needed. It is a follow-up to the first project under MPAC 2025 Initiative 1 on the Establishment of the Initial Rolling Priority Pipeline of ASEAN Infrastructure Projects. This project aims to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affects ASEAN’s infrastructure development efforts, and help ASEAN policymakers determine appropriate future actions. The project will i) assess emerging trends and priorities in infrastructure taking into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; ii) review of the current Pipeline projects and identify key challenges and opportunities; and iii) provide recommendations on new priority areas to promote sustainable infrastructure, updated screening and scoring criteria to determine the suitability of projects for inclusion into the Pipeline, and criteria/tool to refine or enhance the Pipeline projects’ ability to respond to the pandemic. The outcome of this project is expected to guide the subsequent rolling in and out of projects from the...
