EFTA and ASEAN adopt Work Plan under Joint Declaration on Economic Cooperation

The EFTA States were represented by State Secretary Helene Budliger Artieda, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland, Mariann Ruud Hagen, Ambassador of Norway to ASEAN, and Ragnar Thorvardarson, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Iceland in Tokyo. The ASEAN delegation was led by Cristina A. Roque, Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, and included representatives of all 11 ASEAN States at ministerial or vice-ministerial level, as well as the Secretary-General of ASEAN.  

 The Work Plan provides a framework for continued cooperation and engagement under the ASEAN–EFTA Joint Declaration on Economic Cooperation. It emphasises dialogue and information sharing and spans six areas: implementation and monitoring of free trade agreements; micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; electronic commerce; intellectual property rights; innovation and emerging technologies; and trade and sustainable development. It also foresees the exploration of business missions and the fostering of business-to-business dialogue. 

 The adoption of the Work Plan marks a further step in strengthening economic ties between the EFTA States and ASEAN, which are already broad (EFTA has free trade agreements with six ASEAN members, three of which – Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam – were concluded recently) and dynamic (merchandise trade with ASEAN nearly quadrupled over the last 20 years and exceeded EUR 20 billion in 2025). In addition, Norway and Switzerland maintain Structural Dialogue Partnerships with ASEAN.  

ASEAN Work Plan 2026-2030