Bangkok (VNA) - Customs cooperation and healthy financial infrastructure remainthe top challenges for ASEAN in its efforts to strengthen economic integrationand redistribute economic wealth, reported The Nation – an English-languagedaily newspaper based in Bangkok, Thailand – on April 8.

According tothe article, one of the key goals for the bloc is a faster, efficient andpaperless customs-transit system to facilitate trade and investment among theten member countries.

It said theASEAN Single Window (ASW) is designed to cut logistics costs, make clearing andtransiting border customs checkpoints easier and increase productivity in boththe public and private sectors. The mechanism aims to use electronic means to facilitatemore-convenient customs procedures, goods in transit, tax claims and licensingapproval. 

After atwo-day meeting of ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors in ChiangRai last week, Thai Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong told reporters that fiveor six countries have developed their own national single window and are readyto link with other bloc members. He said Thailand expects all countries toparticipate in the ASW by the end of 2019, as quoted by the newspaper.

According tohim, Thailand and its neighbours also discussed combining the inspections ofgoods by both the exporting and importing country at border check points tosave time and lower logistics costs. Currently, only Thailand and Laos haveimplemented joint inspections at the border.

Meanwhile, regardinga payment connectivity initiative, ASEAN is making efforts to boost the digitalrevolution for deeper economic integration.

Notably,Thailand is trying to persuade other countries to adopt the QR-code paymentsystem, by which it ties bank accounts to phone numbers and allows people touse a mobile application for financial transactions. 

Cambodia,Indonesia and Laos are interested in the concept, said Apisak.-VNA