Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship of 2023 continues with a series of meetings that discuss various issues towards the central theme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”.

Under its chairmanship, Indonesia is determined to continue to strengthen the relevance of ASEAN in responding to regional and global challenges. Indonesia also aims to scale up the region’s position as the epicentrum of economic growth for the prosperity of ASEAN. Indonesia has taken various steps to achieve those goals, including hosting the 59th ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality (ACCSQ) meeting.

The National Standardization Agency (BSN) hosted the meeting, with BSN Head Kukuh S. Achmad officially opened the event.

ACCSQ is a meeting of sectoral bodies in Standardization and Conformity Assessment (SCA) within ASEAN. The 59th ACCSQ meeting was held for four days, June 13–16, 2023, in Yogyakarta. Kukuh S. Achmad emphasized that BSN, a Non-Ministerial Government Department (NMGD), is responsible for coordinating SCA to support ASEAN as the epicentrum of growth by the theme of Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”.

ACCSQ noted that many initiatives had been agreed upon in ASEAN, especially standardization and conformity assessment. One example is the product acceptance agreements in the region for various products, ranging from electronics, cosmetics, medical devices, and automotive products.

However, Kukuh deemed that there are still many follow-up actions that need to be taken by stakeholders in the field, such as the action plan of the Joint Sectoral Committee for Electronic and Electrical Equipment (JSC EEE). The committee will conduct a study to map regional trade in the EEE sector utilizing laboratory test reports and/or certificates issued by registered Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) in ASEAN.

In the global context, ASEAN Member States need to anticipate world economic issues considering the threats of an economic recession due to escalating geopolitical situations such as the Russia–Ukraine conflict and the China–United States trade war.

ASEAN also needs to address several issues discussed in the G20 forum, including sustainable energy, digital transformation, and health architecture.

“The role of ASEAN in these issues will certainly be difficult if ASEAN countries protect their trade and do not prioritize a mutually beneficial trade system,” Kukuh said.

Furthermore, BSN has been mandated to develop the Roadmap of ASEAN Harmonised Standards to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is one of the 16 Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) that Indonesia aims to achieve during its ASEAN Chairmanship this year.

Harmonized standards are needed to create harmony in ensuring product quality, especially for developing countries to compete globally. Furthermore, harmonized standards and mutual acceptance of laboratory test results for those standards can ensure more competitive products to support equitable prosperity in ASEAN.

“BSN is committed to completing Indonesia’s PED, which is expected to support the increased productivity of trade in the ASEAN region through cost-efficient production while preserving sustainable resources and environmental protection,” Kukuh said.

Similarly, at the national level, the existing Indonesian National Standard (SNI) is believed to support the competitiveness of Indonesian products on the world stage, which is expected to improve the national economy.

This year’s ACCSQ meeting was a milestone in history as Timor-Leste attended the meeting for the first time as an Observer after being accepted in principle as the 11th member of ASEAN.

It also signifies the growing development of SCA within ASEAN, contributing to enhancing market access, facilitating product diversification, and increasing investment opportunities.

Overall, the progress of ACCSQ achievements will continue to be monitored through a monitoring and evaluation mechanism aligned with the ACCSQ Strategic Plan 2016–2025.

Should technical and policy issues arise, would be periodically reported vertically to higher levels, such as the Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM) and ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM), and horizontally to relevant sectoral bodies between other ASEAN pillars.

Writer: Firman Hidranto
Editor: Ratna Nuraini/Elvira Inda Sari/Wilda Stiana
Translator: Wisnu Wardoyo