The meeting focused on issues related to the implementation of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and measures to advance broader and deeper regional economic integration. According to reports, intra-ASEAN trade currently makes up just 21.2% of the region’s total trade in 2024, falling far behind other blocs such as the European Union, which has an intra-trade level of 60%. Boosting intra-ASEAN trade is not merely an economic aspiration. According to him, these barriers weigh most heavily on MSMEs, the largest employers of the workforce in ASEAN. At the same time, Tengku Zafrul also said he is pleased that ASEAN has successfully concluded negotiations for the upgrade of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).