Page 4 of 23 iii
Member Countries shall thereafter be given one-and-a-half months to study the proposals and undertake the necessary consultations.
iv A Special SEOM will be convened back-to-back with SEOM 137 to
deliberate on the proposals as well as the recommendations further suggested by the sectoral bodies during consultations. The SEOM
preparatory to the 11
th
ASEAN Summit could also initially consider the recommendations.
v Member Countries shall be given one-and-a-half months to do their
internal procedures in preparation for the signing of the improved roadmaps arising from Phase 2 by the AEM Retreat.
9. The Meeting noted Singapore’s letter regarding the ACCSQ’s proposal to change the
implementing body of two measures in the e-ASEAN Roadmap from the ACCSQ to TELSOM, which appears as ANNEX 5.
AGENDA ITEM 4.
FOLLOW-UP TO THE DECISIONS OF THE THIRD ASEAN SENIOR ECONOMIC OFFICIALS MEETING FOR THE THIRTY SIXTH
ASEAN ECONOMIC MINISTERS MEETING SEOM 336, 16 – 18 JUNE 2005, BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
4.1 ASEAN Single Window
10. The Meeting considered and discussed the outcome of the 5
th
Meeting of Task Force on the ASEAN Single Window TF-ASW, held in Manila on 2-4 August 2005. The ASEAN
Secretariat paper containing the highlights and the report, the outline of the technical document and the draft ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Establishment and
Implementation of the ASEAN Single Window appear as ANNEX 6. 11.
The Meeting recalled the agreement of the Ministers at the AEM Retreat in Ha Long Bay that the ASW could be a deliverable at the forthcoming ASEAN Summit. With this in
mind, the Meeting agreed as follows: a
“Framework” in the title of the draft ASW Agreement should be deleted to read “ASEAN Agreement to Establish and Implement the ASEAN Single
Window”.
b Recognising that most Member Countries would not be able to set up the
ASW within a short period from the signing of the ASW Agreement, the Meeting agreed that the Agreement would serve as a statement of
commitment from Member Countries to establish the ASW. Technical documentation of the ASW shall be in a separate Protocol.
c Emphasising that the establishment of the ASW is meant to facilitate trade
and not a liberalisation exercise, its target date of implementation, as stipulated in Article 5 of the Agreement, shall be 2010. Flexibility shall be
given to Member Countries but the establishment of the ASW should be done not later than 2012. Notwithstanding, Member Countries were encouraged to
accelerate the implementation of the ASW as soon as feasible.
d Noting that a meeting of the TF-ASW has been scheduled at the same time of
the 37
th
AEM meeting to consider the draft ASW Agreement, the AEM in
Page 5 of 23 Vientiane shall be requested to make an endorsement in-principle so that
Member Countries can commence with their internal procedures to have the ASW Agreement be signed by the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for
Economic Integration at the 11
th
ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005.
e The entry into force of the ASW Agreement shall be set independent of the
completion of the domestic processes of Member Countries. Appropriate provisions for Member Countries which would not be able to complete their
ratification process within the specified date should be incorporated into the Agreement.
12. The Philippines and Thailand briefed the Meeting on the progress made to implement
the ASW on a pilot basis. The Philippines highlighted that one of the remaining issues that she has to address is connectivity among the agencies involved in the implementation of the
ASW. Thailand, on the other hand, highlighted her intention to focus first on inter- government coordination before involving the private sector stakeholders. As for the next
stage of implementation for the ASW, Thailand raised that there may be a need to have a technical body to oversee the implementation of the ASW pointing our that the TF-ASW will
complete its task and disbanded accordingly as provided for in its TOR.
4.2 ASEAN Common Time ACT
