Jakarta, June 1 -- 1. The Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM) of ASEAN successfully resolved all outstanding issues in the negotiations of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) during its Second Meeting of the 57th ASEAN SEOM, held in Manila, Philippines on 27-29 May 2026. This marks the successful conclusion of the negotiations on ASEAN's first region-wide digital economy agreement and a major milestone in advancing the ASEAN Leader's vision of a digitally integrated, secure, interoperable, competitive, and inclusive regional economy.

2. The ASEAN DEFA is expected to play a transformative role in unlocking the full potential of ASEAN's digital economy, which studies indicate could reach as much as USD 2 trillion by 2...