2025 Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) Program
Sponsorship Deadline: COB Friday, December 20, 2024
Through the 2024 DEFA Workshop Series Program, the Council and member companies were able to engage directly with the DEFA Negotiating Committee (NC), register the private sector’s interest, and provide feedback and recommendations to shape the ASEAN DEFA. With the targeted adoption of the agreement by November 2025, the Council sees an important opportunity to continue our engagement with the DEFA NC and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that DEFA is high standard, interoperable and commercially meaningful. It is important that AMS reach consensus on a DEFA without compromising the quality of the agreement. This creates a great opportunity for the U.S. business community to continue offering thought leadership, sharing technical knowledge and best practices to help AMS, especially the less developed, to catch up with the DEFA commitments schedule.
A forward-looking DEFA, if implemented effectively, can unlock the digital economy for up to US$2 trillion by 2030 and open opportunities for investment and public-private partnership. However, there remain pressing challenges in closing the digital gap among the AMS and fragmented regulatory practices between countries have made it difficult for business to navigate their operations in the region. Through the Council’s engagements with the DEFA negotiators this year, we have also identified the urgent need to consolidate views among the domestic agencies in the individual ASEAN Member States (AMS) that would eventually implement DEFA commitments. This can only be accomplished through a close collaboration between the public and private sectors, with tailored support and assistance to the respective AMS to address their different digital economy readiness.
The Council would like to invite members to participate in this advocacy journey towards DEFA adoption in 2025 through the following efforts:
Submission of proposed texts in key aspects of DEFA via the ASEAN Secretariat
Three in-country capacity building workshops
SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE AND BENEFITS
Platinum: $50,000 (2 companies)
- Designated as the Council’s Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) Co-Chairs with the opportunity to lead and shape the direction, priorities, work plan, and strategy for engagement with DEFA Negotiating Committee and the priority AMS
- Opportunity to lead and provide direction in shaping the Council’s proposed text for DEFA and other supplementary documents on key topics for the DEFA negotiators
- Prominent speaking role for keynote address and panel discussions at three workshops
- Become the spokespersons on the Council’s DEFA initiatives when participating in the relevant ASEAN Ministerial Meetings (AEM, ADGMIN and AFMGM)
- Quoted in press releases
Gold: $35,000 (4 companies)
- Attendance in all workshops, with speaking role in panel discussions at two workshops
- Opportunity to provide input on priorities and strategic engagement with the DEFA negotiators, including in shaping the Council’s proposed text for DEFA and other supplementary documents
- Acknowledgement in press releases
Silver: $20,000 (4 companies)
- Attendance in all workshops, with speaking role in one workshop.
- Opportunity to provide input to the proposed text for DEFA and other supplementary documents
- Acknowledgement in press releases
To express interest or for further questions, please reach out to Mario Masaya (mmasaya@usasean.org) and Marcella Suwandhi (msuwandhi@usasean.org) by COB Friday, December 20, 2024.