During the 4th ASEAN Digital Ministers' Meeting (ADGMIN) on 2 February 2024, two essential guides were unveiled:

1. ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics

The ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics seeks to establish common principles for trustworthy AI and suggests best practices for how to implement trustworthy AI in ASEAN. It includes AI governance use cases from companies and the public sector in ASEAN. The intention is to help promote consumer confidence and facilitate cross-border deployment of AI-powered services and solutions, enabling ASEAN to fully leverage the power of AI as a region. The Guide was developed in consultation with industry partners, and was endorsed by ADGMIN in Feb 2024.

2. Joint Guide to ASEAN Model Contractual Clauses and EU Standard Clauses

The updated Joint Guide to ASEAN Model Contractual Clauses and EU Standard Contractual Clauses consists of a Reference Guide and an Implementation Guide. Initially published in May 2023, the Reference Guide offers a comparison between the ASEAN Model Contractual Clauses (MCCs) and the EU Standard Clauses (SCCs). The Implementation Guide complements the Reference Guide by providing non-exhaustive examples of best practices that companies can consider implementing to operationalise the safeguards required under both sets of contractual clauses.

The updated Joint Guide is intended to help companies operating across ASEAN and EU regions in understanding the similarities and differences between the respective contractual clauses, thereby facilitating compliance with applicable data protection requirements.