Jakarta Hosts First ASEAN Regulatory Reform Dialogue

 

The lights at the buildings at the main business district are turned off during Earth Hour in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, March, 26, 2011.

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JAKARTA,  - ASEAN integration made another step forward, as delegates met for the First ASEAN Regulatory Reform Dialogue (ARRD) in Jakarta recently, a press statement of the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat said here on Friday.
The Dialogue chaired by Dato Lim Jock Hoi, the Permanent Secretary of Brunei Darussalam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was an important avenue to exchange views and information on regulatory reform efforts and policy measures, and to discuss measures and activities to take forward ASEAN initiatives on regulatory reform related issues, the Secretariat said.
This effort is a positive and pro-active step towards looking into ways to deal with impediments to trade, and investment facilitation, as ASEAN advances its economic integration. Specialists in structural and regulatory reforms from the World Bank, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)Secretariat, also shared their knowledge, tools, approaches and experiences at the Dialogue.
In the present complex and interconnected world, regulations assume a greater role than ever before as a fundamental tool of government, and an integral part of a well-functioning economy. Regulatory reform is a multi-faceted task that involves various stakeholders, and it requires co-operation between all levels and all stakeholder groups in ASEAN, namely government administration, business, and peoples.
Dato Lim said that "ASEAN is diverse and there is no ’one size fits all’ formulation to addressing regulatory reform but there is scope for a degree of regulatory coherence in many areas, especially in areas committed under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint".
He further elaborated that "undertaking regulatory reform will never be an easy task and it is essential to start the process of socialising the issue of regulatory reform within ASEAN today".
During the Dialogue, each ASEAN country presented the progress, challenges and issues related to regulatory and structural reform that has and is being undertaken in the areas of trade in services, investment facilitation and transport.
The Members then exchanged views on their respective reform efforts and discussed on the possibility of cooperation in these three areas at the regional level. Indonesia is the current ASEAN Chair.