Depok, 13 October 2026: ERIA, in collaboration with Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade, launched the ‘Digital Trade Governance Readiness Training (Including ASEAN DEFA)’ programme at the ministry’s Centre for the Development of Trade Apparatus Competence (Pusbangkom AP) in Depok.

The capacity-building programme aims to strengthen government officials’ knowledge, analytical capabilities, and policy readiness in digital trade governance and the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA). The ten-session programme brings together 40 participants: 32 officials from the Ministry of Trade, four from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, and four ERIA research associates.

The programme is facilitated by Sven Callebaut, a digital trade expert who also developed the training materials. Key topics include cross-border data flows, e-commerce, digital payments, digital identity and authentication, data protection and privacy, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, talent mobility, competition policy, and the architecture and implementation of the ASEAN DEFA.

Delivering opening remarks on behalf of ERIA President Tetsuya Watanabe, Dr Intan Murnira Ramli, Senior Policy Fellow at ERIA, emphasised that as trade issues become increasingly complex, trade officials need to understand the regulations that affect digital trade and the rationale behind them. They must also be equipped to assess how these regulations align with Indonesia’s commitments under bilateral, regional, and multilateral frameworks.

Dr Ramli highlighted the ASEAN DEFA as an important milestone in the region’s digital economic integration, while stressing that signing the agreement – planned for the upcoming ASEAN Summit – is only the beginning. Effective implementation will depend on how well regional commitments are understood, translated into domestic policies and regulations, and put into practice by national institutions.

She also noted that ERIA has supported ASEAN as a knowledge partner on DEFA since the early stages of negotiations and continues to contribute through this programme and the broader work of the ERIA Digital Innovation and Sustainable Economy Centre (E-DISC).

In closing, Dr Ramli encouraged participants to continue learning, co-ordinate across agencies, and translate their knowledge into effective policy as digital trade evolves. She reaffirmed ERIA’s readiness to support ASEAN in this endeavour.