Indonesian entrepreneurs have been asked to comprehend how the would-be implemented Asean Single Window works, while the government is expected to pass regulations to help the country face the new framework.  “The government cannot work alone, it has to involve entrepreneurs who are the ones that will compete in the region's market,” said Secretary of the National Economy Committee (KEN) Aviliani last week. Asean Single Window will be implemented in 2012.
 
Although ASW is a program that has been planned several years ago and implemented in stages, he said the government should review the readiness in various terms, before it will be realized next year.  According to him, the government needs to focus on the specialization of local trading, and then prepare the industry to support the strengthening of domestic trading, so that Indonesia will not be left behind when competing with other countries in the Asean Single Window (ASW) platform.
 
"The government should protect the national market with the strong regulations before Indonesia integrates in the Asean import-export activities," he explained.  
 
ASW is a trading system that aims to increase transparency and the speed of export-import and Asean single window customs service through the uniformity of information data among Asean members.  The full implementation of ASEAN Single Window program, in a pilot project format, will be begin in January 2012 in seven of the ten Asean countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, and Vietnam.
 
As for the other three countries, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are not yet able to join the international single window trading system as they are not ready in terms of infrastructure and institutions.
 
Further improvement
 
On the sidelines of the Asean meeting, a precursor to the Asean summit last week, Director of Asean Cooperation from Ministry of Trade Imam Pambagyo explained the implementation of ASW is still a pilot project, and further improvement can still be done.  Separately, Special Assistant of Minister of National Development Planning (PPN) Dedi M. Masykur Riyadi said sufficient internal connectivity will support the continuity of the connectivity in the Asean region.
 
If the regulations are not yet good, then entrepreneurs will not be interested in making transactions,” he said last week.  To encourage the strengthening of Asean trading, he added, each Asean member should loosen their regulations especially the regulation on the availability of information, such as customs, import-export data, and trade information.