At the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday, Hafid stated that Indonesia is encouraging the creation of a connected, trusted, and sustainable regional digital economy ecosystem.
This effort includes strengthening cross-border payment systems, such as QRIS, and accelerating the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).
“QRIS has been linked with several regional partners, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. This helps reduce barriers, lower costs, and expand access to regional markets. More broadly, digitalization also drives productivity gains,” she said, as quoted in a press release on Wednesday.
Hafid noted that ASEAN is at a strategic moment to move beyond partial integration towards a fully interoperable and sovereign regional digital ecosystem.
In her view, DEFA provides a platform to harmonize standards, enable cross-border digital services, reduce fragmentation, and offer regulatory certainty for businesses across the region.
“ASEAN has the Digital Economy Framework Agreement, which signals that ASEAN is committed to building digital integration, not merely becoming a follower,” she said.
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Translator: Pamela Sakina, Kuntum Khaira
Editor: Arie Novarina
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