ASEAN member nations are working along several tracks to develop their e-commerce future.
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Leaders of 10 Southeast Asian countries gathered in
Singapore on Friday to sign the e-ASEAN accord, urging member nations to
make e-commerce safe and effective for
consumers, to establish high-speed Internet connections, and to
approve digital signature legislation.
The e-ASEAN accord also seeks to eliminate duties on information technology
goods and services by 2010.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
members range from poor agrarian countries such as Cambodia and Laos to tech-savvy
Singapore, but all are united in the belief that technology is the path to economic gain.
"ASEAN countries must similarly embrace technology, its
development and use if it is to remain competitive -- not even
to catch up with the industrialized world but simply to stay in
the running. This is a call not for ASEAN necessarily to
undertake basic, pioneering scientific research but to adapt,
develop and utilize science and technology to strengthen the
region's economies and improve the lives of its people," said
Rodolfo C. Severino, ASEAN Secretary General, in a report
to the 33rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July.
E-Commerce for All
Recognizing that e-commerce will be a critical factor in economic development in
the coming years, ASEAN established the e-ASEAN task force last year to focus on
boosting e-commerce in the region.
Part of the task force's work is to close the digital divide that separates
richer ASEAN members like Singapore from poorer ones, such as Malaysia. The task
force also identified areas that need further attention, such as cyber laws, secure
messaging infrastructure, payment gateways and online services and products for
regional development.
Second Task Force
Another ASEAN group working toward achieving e-commerce equity is the Coordinating
Committee on Electronic Commerce (CCEC), which drew up the non-binding ASEAN Guiding
Principles on Electronic Commerce. These principles call on member
nations to work together to establish laws and policies that
facilitate cross-border e-commerce, and to share the technological
knowledge necessary to build e-commerce infrastructure.
"ASEAN is taking economic integration into the information age,
while using information and communications technology to
strengthen regional economic integration," said Severino, in a
speech last month at the Thailand Development Research Institute.
Legalizing Digital Signatures
The e-ASEAN pact also calls for member nations to pass digital
signature laws that will make it easier for companies and
individuals from different parts of the world to do business
together. Legalizing digital signatures -- copies of a
person's signature stored digitally on computer -- means that a
factory in Thailand could sign a contract with a U.S. firm by
attaching a digital signature to an e-mail.
Some ASEAN nations, including the Philippines, Thailand and
Singapore, have already signed various digital signature acts.
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