KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) aims to conclude the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement during Malaysia’s chairmanship in 2025.

Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the framework is being negotiated and is aimed to create a more competitive, inclusive, and profitable region while accelerating Asean’s transformation into a leading digital economy.

“Next year will be important for Malaysia as it will assume the role of Asean Chair.

“Malaysia views the chairmanship role as an opportunity to align Asean’s direction with the national economic policies, facilitating their regional adoption. ith this in mind, Malaysia is currently crafting its Priority Economic Deliverables as key deliverables for our chairmanship of Asean next year.

“The PEDs chosen are expected to benefit our people and businesses, particularly the SMEs and manufacturing sector,” Tengku Zafrul said in his speech at the Asean Manufacturing Youth Conference 2024 (AMYC 2024) today.

He also said that Miti is spearheading works related to the Asean Economic Pillar, guided by overarching objectives of the Asean Economic Community Council.

“Miti is also actively formulating the Asean Community Vision (ACV) 2045 for the economic portion. This ACV will establish a developmenttrajectory for Asean over the next two decades.

“The formulation of the ACV comes at the right time. Asean Leaders will unveil the document during the Asean Summit in Malaysia next year,” Tengku Zafrul said.

He said Malaysia has been undertaking various initiatives and launching several strategic plans to support the manufacturing industry in taking leaps in the global supply chain.

This includes the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, the National Energy Transition Roadmap, the Chemical Industry Roadmap and the National Semiconductor Strategy.

“These policies, combined with strong support from industry players, will provide the foundation for Malaysia to grow sustainably,” said Tengku Zafrul.