The Minister of Trade and Industry, Filipus Nino Pereira, is attending the 55th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Economic Ministers’ Meeting, which is being held in Semarang, on the island of Java, in Indonesia, from August 17th to 22nd, 2023.
Various issues concerning regional economic integration and the strengthening of relations between member countries were discussed at the meeting, and five crucial agreements for economic and commercial cooperation in the region were signed.
Among the agreements signed stands out the successful conclusion of the ASEAN Services Facilitation Framework (ASFF), which will pave the way for greater professional mobility in sectors such as architecture and medicine.
A second protocol for an update of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) Framework Agreement was also signed, and the Study on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) was ratified, thus reinforcing the commitment to technological and digital development in the region.
The Ministerial Declaration on the Framework for Project-Based Industrial Initiatives in ASEAN was also ratified, as were the Terms of Reference for establishing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Support Unit. 
During the event, Minister Filipus Nino Pereira had the opportunity to meet with his Indonesian counterpart, with whom he discussed various topics of bilateral interest. Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan expressed his support for Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN. Both Ministers also discussed the ongoing process of creating cross-border free trade zones between the two countries.