Pasir Panjang port in Singapore. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – The 55th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM-55) taking place from August 17-22 in Semarang, Indonesia, with 19 sessions and nine flagship activities will discuss regional important issues.
The AEM-55 is the last in a series of AEM meetings under Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023. Its results will be reported to the ASEAN Economic Community Council and the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta this September.
Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the AEM-55 has three main goals. The first one is to fulfil the ASEAN chair’s economic priorities in 2023, such as the signing of the Protocol for the Second Amendment of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
The meeting is also expected to ratify documents related to the ASEAN Digital Economic Framework Agreement, ministerial statements related to the ASEAN Industrial Projects Initiative Framework, the Terms of Reference (ToR), and a funding agreement to establish a support unit for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement by 2024.
The second goal is to strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and its dialogue partners and strategic partners.
According to Hasan, the other goal of AEM-55 is to strengthen cooperation between business entities in ASEAN and partner countries.
According to the Asian Development Bank, ASEAN's economic growth reached 5.1% in 2022 and is forecast to reach 4.6% and 4.9% in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
In 2022, ASEAN's trade turnover reached 3.8 trillion USD, up 14.9% compared to 2021. China is still ASEAN's main trading partner with two-way turnover reaching 722.2 billion USD, accounting for 18 8% of the total trade turnover of the region, followed by the US (10.9%) and the European Union (7.7%).
Meanwhile, intra-ASEAN trade accounted for 22.3% of total trade turnover, up from 21.3% in 2021. In terms of investment, total capital poured into ASEAN reached 224.2 billion USD in 2022, an increase of 5.5% compared to 2021./.
