Policies and regulations on free flow of data across the  countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must be realised urgently to further promote digitalisation and its growing participation in the region, according to Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama.

Illustrative image (Source: Activist Post)

This call was made before the first ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting (ADGMIN 1), scheduled to be held via teleconference on January 21 and 22, under the chair of Malaysian Minister of Communications and Multimedia Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, and attended by representatives from ASEAN’s dialogue partners including Japan, China, the European Union, the Republic of Korea, and the International Telecommunication Union.

Themed “ASEAN: A Digitally Connected Community", the meeting aims to promote cooperation among ASEAN member countries towards building digital ecosystems as a pillar in the post-COVID-19 development plan.

Bernama quoted Senior Economist of Jakarta-based Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia , Dr. Lurong Chen, saying that the call is essential now as digital activities which include rule setting, trade facilitation and service liberalisation would certainly be beneficial.

Chen  said with the challenging period of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the free flow of data implementation would certainly help to further spur the digital economy, and moving towards its integration across the region.

Source: VNA