PALMOILMAGAZINE, LAOS – During his visit to Laos, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, attended the 24th ASEAN Economic Community Council (AECC) Ministerial Meeting on Monday (7/10). At the meeting, he called on ASEAN members to unite and address global sustainability policies that may be discriminatory in nature.
Under Laos’ 2024 chairmanship, the meeting focused on sustainability, with particular attention on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Concerns were raised about the regulation’s potential impact on production and trade in sectors like timber, agriculture, and plantations. Airlangga stressed that Indonesia would work to build alliances and secure support to counteract the policy’s effects.
The EUDR, initially set to take effect by the end of December 2024, has been postponed to early 2025. Indonesia and Malaysia objected to the use of data they believe misrepresents forest conditions in the ASEAN region. Both countries have proposed forming a task force with the European Union to share geospatial data as a basis for EUDR regulations. Other countries, including the United States and Germany, have also expressed concerns over the regulation.
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Besides EUDR, ASEAN would formulate five prior sustainability agenda, such as, the implementation of circular economic frame, operational of carbon neutrality strategies, guidelines to sustainable investment, action plans to sustainable agriculture, and the implementation of blue economic frame.
“In this meeting, I take every ASEAN member to gather and be proactive to respon sustainability policy that might be discriminative, such as, EUDR. This would negatively deliver impacts for the economy and the people’s life,” Airlangga said, in the official statement, as Palmoilmagazine.com quoted, Thursday (10/10/2024). He also encouraged many things together with ASEAN to reinforce the strategic position to get dialogue with some important partners.
He also emphasized the sustainability agenda implementation in ASEA should be pragmatic by involving every party to increase the capacity and capability about sustainability issues.
The meeting was led by Minister of Industry and Trade, Laos and attended by eight ministers and two minister’s representatives from two members and one representative from Timor Leste. Airlangga was with some officials from Indonesia, such as, the secretary of Coordinator Ministry in Economy, deputy of International Cooperation Coordination Ministry in Economy, and the representatives of Ministry of Trade. (P2)