TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsASEAN to implement digital pact by 2026, senior minister says
DEFA serves as ASEAN's free trade agreement (FTA) focusing on enhancing digital economic cooperation and integration among member states by harmonizing rules for digital trade, services and innovation.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartanto (three from the left) pose for a picture with ASEAN representatives following a press conference on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) 14th negotiations round in Jakarta on Oct. 7, 2025. (TJP/Ni Made Tasyarani)
T
he government has announced plans to sign and implement the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) by next year, an initiative that was one of the key priorities during Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2023.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the ongoing 14th round of DEFA negotiations in Jakarta was expected to achieve a 70 percent substantial conclusion of the agreement’s discussions.
“This meeting marks a step toward strengthening integration [...] to finalize the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, which will be held in Jakarta for four days,” the senior minister said.
He added that the multilateral agreement was “expected to be signed and implemented by 2026.”
DEFA serves as ASEAN's free trade agreement (FTA) focusing on enhancing digital economic cooperation and integration among member states by harmonizing rules for digital trade, services and innovation.
Airlangga highlighted that ASEAN’s large population of around 680 million people had made the region “the world’s most dynamic digital market.”
Read also: ASEAN to start negotiations on digital economy pact this third quarter
