Page 33 - ASEAN-EU Dialogue 2018: Regional and Inter-Regional Economic Cooperation: Identifying Priorities for ASEAN and the EU

Prospects and Challenges
Partnering for Development
Both ASEAN and EU have made explicit commitment to work towards achieving the SDGs.
For ASEAN, there is more explicit focus on poverty reduction and equity as the ASEAN
member countries continue to prioritise economic development although sustainable
development has increasingly become more prominent in policy formation. More importantly,
ASEAN and EU have also reflected the need for more effective partnering in order to best
implement efforts to achieve the SDGs. This is in line with goal 17 which is to “strengthen the
means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development”
(UN, 2015). The SDGs call for partnership in financing, technology sharing, capacity building,
trade, and addressing systemic issues which include 1) policy and institutional coherence, 2)
multi-stakeholder partnerships and 3) data, monitoring and accountability (UN, 2015).

Therefore, it is significant to note that ASEAN and EU have mutually recognised each other as
important partners in the cause. The Inaugural High-Level ASEAN-EU Dialogue on
Sustainable Development: Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals was held
in Bangkok in November 2017. One such effort is the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation
Fund which provides investments not only in infrastructure (as part of China’s Belt and Road
Initiative) but also in the development of energy and natural resources in ASEAN countries
(UNDP, 2017). Although cooperation and investment from China can be controversial
domestically in ASEAN countries, there is no denying the importance of ASEAN’s partnership
with China.

Accountability and Monitoring
Without a doubt, what has always been the biggest challenge in achieving sustainable
development has been the issue of accountability. This seems to be a bigger concern for
ASEAN as the most commonly cited problem for ASEAN is the slowness, or lack of, action
despite the many policy agendas and agreements. Effective monitoring is important not only
to ensure that programs are carried out but also that mistakes and problems are minimized. It’s
also important that the best practises are operationalized for future projects.

The impact of policies, therefore, should be measured by transparent and comprehensive
collection of data just as much as these development goals need to be integrated into national
development agendas (Glennie, 2015). For EU, Eurostat has long played this vital role in the
collection and publication of data (Eurostat, 2018b). The agency, which was established in
1953, has played an increasingly broader role not only in collecting and comparing data
provided by national statistical agencies but also to help harmonise and generate a common
methodology for EU member countries.

In ASEAN, the ASEAN Statistics Division, the technical arm of the ASEAN Community of
Statistical System (ACSS), plays a similar role (ASEANStats, 2017). ASEAN Statistics
Division has several working groups with one specific working group to monitor the members’
achievement on the SDGs which is the Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals
Indicators (WGSDGI) (EU-ASEAM COMPASS, 2018). The EU-ASEAN Statistical Capacity
Building Project (COMPASS) initiated from 2014-2018 to help monitor the economic
integration of ASEAN sets a good precedence for the type of effort that can, and should, be
extended to increase the capacity of monitoring other development programs.

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