ASEAN member states conclude negotiations on landmark Digital Economy Framework Agreement

29 June 2026

On 31 May 2026, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (“MTI”) announced the successful conclusion of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (“DEFA”) negotiations at the Second Meeting of the 57th ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting held in Manila, Philippines from 27 to 29 May 2026.

The ASEAN DEFA is the first comprehensive, region-wide agreement dedicated to the digital economy, and is a landmark milestone towards building an increasingly digitally interconnected South-east Asian region, linking the digital economies of all ASEAN Member States.

Building on ASEAN’s existing digital economy commitments, the ASEAN DEFA establishes common rules and frameworks that facilitate digital trade, simplifies digital trade procedures, supports trusted cross-border data flows, enhances digital payments and electronic transactions, strengthens online consumer protection, and promotes greater digital interoperability across the region.

The Agreement will make it easier for businesses to access opportunities in South-east Asia’s growing digital economy and for consumers to transact with greater confidence. The ASEAN DEFA also breaks new ground in addressing emerging areas such as AI, financial technology, and source code protection. Studies project that DEFA implementation could double ASEAN’s digital economy to US$2 trillion by 2030.

With negotiations concluded, the ASEAN DEFA is targeted to be signed at the 49th ASEAN Summit taking place in November 2026. 

Reference materials 

The press release is available on the MTI website www.mti.gov.sg on this webpage.