Overview of The AEC Monitoring
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was officially launched on 31 December 2015 as one of the ASEAN Community pillars. The first AEC Blueprint was adopted at the 13th ASEAN Summit in 2007. This first blueprint set the foundation for the establishment of AEC in 2015. At the 27th ASEAN Summit in November 2015, AEC Blueprint 2025 was adopted to guide the development of AEC from 2016 to 2025.
The Blueprint covers the five characteristics of: (1) A Highly Integrated and Cohesive Economy; (2) A Competitive, Innovative, and Dynamic ASEAN; (3) Enhanced Connectivity and Sectoral Cooperation; (4) A Resilient, Inclusive, People-Oriented, and People-Centred ASEAN; and (5) Global ASEAN, which in turn comprises different sectors and strategic measures. Their implementation is operationalised through the sectoral work plans adopted by relevant sectoral bodies.
In 2016, ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) and the ASEAN Economic Community Council (AECC) endorsed the AEC 2025 Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to ensure a timely and effective implementation of the AEC Blueprint 2025.
AEC monitoring comes under the purview of the ASEAN Secretariat’s ASEAN Integration Monitoring Directorate (AIMD). Formerly named the Macroeconomic and Finance Surveillance Office (MFSO) and later the ASEAN Integration Monitoring Office (AIMO), the AIMD was regularised as part of the endorsed new structure of the ASEAN secretariat on 1 January 2016. The AIMD is mandated to:
- Spearhead the implementation of regional surveillance and economic integration monitoring in ASEAN;
- Provide high level policy and technical advice and recommendations to support ASEAN economic integration initiatives;
- Shape economic research and policy analysis programmes of ASEAN Secretariat;
- Ensure effective information dissemination, communication and reporting on ASEAN economic integration; and
- Provide in-house capacity development for economic integration monitoring, analysis and research.
Priority Areas of Cooperation
AEC 2025 Monitoring and Evaluation Framework comprises the following components:
- Compliance Monitoring to measure implementation progress against strategic measures set in the AEC Blueprint 2025 and relevant AEC sectoral workplans (SWP), including annual priorities set by the sector and Chairmanship’s priority economic deliverables.
- Outcomes monitoring refers to periodic assessment of benefits resulted from the implementation of the AEC, which is measured through key performance indicators (KPIs) that are in line with the strategic measures/objectives/goals in the AEC Blueprint 2025 and SWP, as well as the broader economic landscape;
- Impact evaluation takes outcomes monitoring one step further by measuring how regional economic integration affect the broader socio-economic environment of the ASEAN Member States, as validated through empirical research/studies/surveys.
Each AEC sectoral body is responsible for closely tracking the progress of its respective sectoral work plans. The overall monitoring of the above components is conducted by the AIMD in support of the ASEAN Economic Community Council (AECC), which is the primary body responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance of the AEC Blueprint 2025.
To ensure transparency and stakeholder consultation, ASEAN economic integration progress and outcomes are made available to a wide-range of audiences.
The AEC Blueprint 2025 is reviewed periodically as decided by the AECC, but not more than every three years, unless otherwise agreed with a view towards enhancing the level of economic integration in ASEAN. Currently, the Mid-Term Review of the AEC Blueprint 2025 has commenced as mandated by the AECC and with oversight from the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration. The Mid-Term Review exercise is coordinated by the AIMD.
Major Sectoral Bodies/Committees
Committee of the Whole (CoW) for the ASEAN Economic Community:
CoW acts as the coordinating conference of the AEC. The Committee meets annually, usually at the beginning of the year, and serves as a platform for sharing AEC implementation progress and plan for the year, including sectoral priorities, and to identify areas for cross-cutting collaboration/cooperation across sectoral bodies. Special meetings of the Committee may also be held to discuss specific issues. The Committee was first set up in 2009 to enhance ASEAN’s effectiveness in addressing cross-cutting issues across AEC sectors as well as ASEAN Community Pillars. In addition to the Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting (SEOM) and Chairs of sectoral bodies under the AEC Pillar, CoW Meetings are also attended by Chairs of Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) and the Senior Officials’ Committee for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council (SOCA), and Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR). The Chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) is also regularly invited to participate.
High-Level Task Force on Economic Integration (HLTF-EI):
Set up in 2003, the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) provides advisory and strategic inputs to regional economic integration in ASEAN and beyond. Comprising high-ranking officials from ASEAN Member States (AMS), the HLTF-EI took the leading role in the development of the AEC Blueprint 2015 and the subsequent AEC Blueprint 2025. The HLTF-EI also initiates and oversees discussions on new or emerging issues such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Good Regulatory Practice.
Key Documents
ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025
Updated ASEAN Economic Community 2025 Consolidated Strategic Action Plan (version: August 2018)
Publications and Related Links to The Sector
To inform the public of progress of ASEAN economic integration, the ASEAN Integration Monitoring Directorate (AIMD) produces regular publications. The list of publicly available publications are as follows:
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issues
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief – Issue No. 14 (December 2023)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief – Issue No. 13 (July 2023)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No.12 (Dec 2022)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No.11 (June 2022)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 10 (Nov 2021)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 9 (Jun 2021)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 8 (Nov 2020)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 7 (Jul 2020)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 6 (Nov 2019)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 5 (Jun 2019)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 4 (Nov 2018)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 3 (Jun 2018)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 2 (Nov 2017)
- ASEAN Economic Integration Brief Issue No. 1 (Jun 2017)
- ASEAN Integration Reports
- ASEAN Policy Briefs
- Others
The AIMD also conducts research and produce regular surveillance reports to support the work of AEC sectoral bodies, such as the ASEAN Investment Surveillance Report for the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Investment; the ASEAN Finance Integration Monitoring Report for the ASEAN Finance and Central Deputies’ Meeting; and the ASEAN Insurance Surveillance Report for the ASEAN Insurance Regulators’ Meeting.
