Jakarta. ASEAN has officially kicked off its annual meeting in Cebu.

"The ASEAN Summit will focus on the impact of the global conflict to the region, including energy and food security, as well as economic stability in Southeast Asia," Indonesia's Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said.

Airlangga began his Cebu trip by joining the ASEAN Economic Council meeting. The talks revolved around the group's highly anticipated Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), among others. Airlangga said that the group had substantially agreed on all matters related to the DEFA,  leaving only the legal scrubbing process to be signed at the upcoming ASEAN Summit in November 2026.

"The implementation of DEFA will be able to boost the value of ASEAN's digital economy to $2 trillion by 2030, up from the initial estimate of $1 trillion," Airlangga said.

DEFA was one of the key legacies from Indonesia's ASEAN chairmanship in 2023. The group aims to complete the DEFA within this year.

The government press release also wrote that the meeting also talked about Timor-Leste's membership in ASEAN. The country had officially joined the group last year.

Other key economic deliverables include strengthening trade and investment, as well as digital transformation. They will also work on integrating the bloc's small businesses, boosting the creative economy, and driving sustainable development.

President Prabowo Subianto is also set to attend the Cebu meeting. He will join the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and the leaders' summit.