Dr. Wah Wah Maung, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and SEOM Lead attended the Third Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials for the Fifty-Third Meeting of the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (SEOM3/53) which was held from 1^st August to 2^nd  August  , 2022 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Rath Saravuth, Director-General of International Trade, Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia. Senior Economic Officials from ASEAN Member States and the representatives, Deputy Secretary General and officials  from ASEAN Secretariat participated at the meeting.

The Senior Economic Officials (SEOM) discussed on the status  update of the Priority Economic Deliverables for Cambodia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2022 , the Report of the Economic Officials to SEOM , Progress of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) Upgrade Negotiations, Transposition of the ATIGA Tariff Reduction Schedules (TRS), Product Specific Rules (PSR), Textiles Single List and Information Technology Agreement (ITA) List, the Implementation of the Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap and endorsed the new Term of Reference of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Electronic Commerce (ACCEC).

          They also exchanged the view on the third package of the Essential Goodes of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Implementation of Non-Tariff Measures on Essential Goods under the Hanoi Plan of Action on Strengthening ASEAN Economic Cooperation and Supply Chain Connectivity in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the outstanding issue in finalising the draft Protocol to Amend the ASEAN MNP Agreement, signing  and ratification of ASEAN Economic Agreements and the ASEAN Economic Community Fact-Finding Mission (AEC FFM) to Timor-Leste accession to ASEAN.

          Senior Economic Officials discussed on the matters of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Joint Committee Meeting and ASEAN and Dialogues Partners Meetings which are going to be held from 4^th to 7^th August 2022.

          In addition, they also exchanged view on the preparation for the 54th  ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting, the hosting arrangements of relevant AEC-related Meetings during Indonesia’s Chairmanship in 2023 and the establishment of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Secretariat.

          The senior officials from Foreign Economic Relations Department also attend the meeting.