Page 47 - ASEAN BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2019

ASEAN Business & Investment Summit 2019 47

able to connect digitally with NDTP platforms of other countries in the region and with NSW/ASW
of the government. Thus, the aspiration of this digital trade transformation is to enable all related
parties within the ecosystem in ASEAN and with major trade partners to harness the benefits of
data processing.

The Digital Trade Connect project is comprising of 2 major parts:

01 Creating a digital trade platform in the country to improve the efficiency and cost of the
trade system by connecting all parties related to international trade end-to-end digitally to
eliminate the use of paper and reduce manually process from duplication of works and key-
in and re-key of documents. The platform will connect with the platforms of other countries
and NSW/ASW of the government.

02 Derive an agreed regional guideline, harmonized rules, regulations, and standardized of
documents to support ASEAN regional digital trade connectivity.

The true potential success of the digital trade connectivity lies in the ability create a large
pool of interconnected platforms and the possibility for newcomers to access and to become
members of the pool.

To this end, there are multiple regional trade agreements within the Asia-Pacific region
such as in Singapore, India, and Australia, which they could provide ASEAN’s working group with
guidance on the salient considerations in the creation of a successful digital trade platforms such
as issues concerning electronic authentication, e-signature, electronic transferable records, the
prohibition against the promulgation of domestic laws that would interfere with the electronic
authentication process, protocols relating to the mutual recognition of electronic authentication
and signature between participating jurisdictions, as well as the a common digital certification
form to be used among participating jurisdictions.

ASEAN-BAC has presented this Digital Trade Connect initiative to ASEAN Leaders at the
ASEAN Leader Summit Retreat in June 2019 and to ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) in September
2019. In addition, ASEAN-BAC is in the process of doing a study and provide recommendations
regional guideline, harmonized rules, regulations, and standardized of documents to support
ASEAN regional digital trade connectivity.