AEC Feed

Asean leaders on Friday gathered in the resort city of Sochi to mark 20 years of cooperation and dialogue with Russia.
At the closed-door Asean-Russia Commemorative Summit, the leaders of 10 Southeast Asian countries and Russian President Vladimir Putin took stock of their relations and discussed strategies to work even closer on ensuring peace and prosperity for their regions.
Russia supports a stable, prosperous Asean, Putin stressed.
At an earlier reception for Asean leaders, he noted that trade and investment links were far below their potential, and pledged his country’s support to boost them.
“It is important that both Russia and the Asean countries support stronger integration and links between the big economic projects under way in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
He also told business leaders he would discuss the idea of a free trade zone between Asean and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with other members Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.
Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, whose country is Asean chair this year, said Russia and many Asean countries have much deeper ties that go back to the more distant past.
“This is a very good framework for developing relations on a modern footing,” he said.
Addressing the commemorative summit, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong set out the significant role Russia can play in Asia-Pacific.
“To fully harness the potential of our region, we should strive for a region which is characterised by, firstly, peace and stability. Secondly, building on that, growth and prosperity,” he said. – The Straits Times

ONLINE TAXI APPS 80% READY FOR LEGAL OPERATION: MINISTRY OFFICIAL

Ride-hailing mobile application firms have stated that they are 80 per cent ready to operate legally, ahead of the May 31 deadline set by the government.
“The head of the Jakarta City Transportation Agency has reported that online taxis are 80 per cent ready,” the Transportation Ministry’s director-general for land transportation Pudji Hartanto Iskandar said in Jakarta on Friday.
Ministerial Decree No 32/2016 on the operation of taxis rules that a ride app firm can partner with registered transportation companies to provide a transportation service. App-based taxi providers such as Grab and Uber are required to form a legal entity within Indonesia, as well as facilitate their transportation business partners’ permits for providing a taxi service.
The transportation partners also need to form a local legal entity and have an official repair workshop and a minimum fleet of five cars that regularly undergo roadworthy tests.
However, Pudji said not all transportation partners of Grab and Uber had formed a legal entity, registered with the government. – The Jakarta Post