The second webinar of the sixth ASEAN - OCED Good Regulatory Practice Network Meeting took place on October 5 and discussed how to leverage digital tools for agile regulatory policymaking.

In his opening remarks, Director General of the Administrative Procedures Control Agency of Vietnam Ngo Hai Phan expressed his hope that the webinar will provide helpful insights into the use of digital tools to issue policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nguyen The Trung, a member of the Government Office’s consulting group on e-government, said collaboration between the medical and technological sectors is an effective way to cope with the pandemic.

Vietnam built three pillars: improving the Government’s capacity and responsibility for pandemic control, the medical sector’s capability, and public awareness of the effort. A number of apps were launched to trace suspected infections, such as khaibaoyte.vn, Ncovi.vn, and Bluezone, he said.

The Government’s active response, with a correct vision and rapid and practical actions, was the most important factor in combating the pandemic, along with public consensus and data-based decision making.

Deputy Secretary General of the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry Hairil Yahri Yaaacob said his government called on management agencies and the private sector to deal with procedural barriers, especially for those hit by the pandemic.

A number of initiatives have been launched, including building a portal to address policy obstacles and establishing an economic action council led by the Prime Minister.

Participants looked into the digitalisation of regulatory enforcement, such as e-verification, e-bidding, and e-procurement, the principles of effective policy making, and upgrades to regulatory management systems.