The 22nd meeting of the ASEAN Economic Community Council (AECC) discussed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) role in responding to geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs has said. “For instance, the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and ASEAN’s role in responding to geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics,” the ministry’s deputy for coordination of international economic cooperation, Edi Prio Pambudi, said during the 22nd AECC meeting here on Saturday. The 22nd AECC meeting, which is being held in Jakarta on May 6-7, 2023, is part of the side events leading up to the 42nd ASEAN Summit. The ASEAN Summit will be held in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, on May 9-11. “What is certain is that we will see or respond to the current global economic situation because we emphasize ASEAN centrality; we know that ASEAN is a region that attracts a lot of attention,” Pambudi, who is also serving as the leader of senior economic officials at the meeting, said. Issues related to the development of the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in ASEAN will also be discussed in the meeting. “We will soon prepare a statement on EV ecosystem development, which has now become an important part,” he said. Indonesia has the potential to build the EV ecosystem because it has the raw materials for batteries. “We see now that the ecosystem development is already starting, for example, how to manage raw materials for batteries, and later in the production process,” Pambudi said. He said the EV ecosystem must be supported by infrastructure, such as electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLU). “Because the EV (ecosystem) is not just about cars, but also how will the charging stations be provided. Many things must be completed immediately,” he added. Another issue that will be discussed at the meeting is blue economy cooperation, considering that ASEAN has archipelagic regions. The results of the discussion will later be reported to the heads of state at the ASEAN Summit.

Source: Philippines News Agency