On February 6-10, ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting- Working group (AFCDM-WG) convened in Bali and discussed the development of ASEAN Blueprint 2025. This blueprint is in line with various working committee agendas in the ASEAN financial sector in 2022 and 2023 work plans. The Priority Economic Deliverables (PED) that was proposed by Indonesia was one of the significant parts of the development.
The PED focuses on five areas including health readiness, financial infrastructure, international taxation, inclusive financial digitalization for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and sustainable finance. Those five agenda items in the PED will potentially strengthen ASEAN financial cooperation and integration in the 2025 blueprint. The follow-up discussions on the issues discussed during this Working Group meetings will be done at the ASEAN Financial Minister and Central Bank Governor Meeting (AFMGM) at the end of March 2023, in which more detailed directions will be made.
Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga explained that Indonesia’s PEDs were formulated by considering strategic global trends and efforts to overcome the crises on food, energy, and the economy. Furthermore, Deputy Coordinating Minister Edi Pambudi emphasized that it will be necessary for Indonesia to adjust the timeline to achieve economic priorities, especially those that will be submitted to the Head of States at the 43rd ASEAN Summit, which is scheduled in September 2023.
