ASEAN and the world

Malaysia recorded a new daily high of 22,242 new COVID-19 cases on August 18, bringing the cumulative total to over 1,466,512.

A ceremony to raise the flag of ASEAN was held by embassies of ASEAN member states at Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry headquarters in Caracas on August 13 to commemorate the bloc’s 54th founding anniversary.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD5 million grant to expand and improve water supply, sanitation, and waste management services in Nauru.

The Philippines has emphasised the importance of maintaining navigation and overflight freedom in the East Sea, as well as the peaceful solution to disputes through international law.

Cambodia’s Phnom Penh authorities have ordered extending the night curfew by seven days to August 19.

(CPV) - Bhutan’s Ministry of Health and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held a groundbreaking ceremony on August 11th 2021 for the construction of satellite clinics in urban peripheries in Thimphu and Phuentsholing. The project has been supported by a USD20 million Health Sector Development Program of ADB.

Since its official establishment in 1967, the Assocation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has obtained significant achievements.

As of August 9, 70 percent of Singapore’s population has been fully vaccinated, and 79 percent had received at least one dose, making it one of the countries with highest vaccination rates in the world.

Cambodia's National Committee for Immunization against COVID-19 announced that as of August 8, nearly 51 percent of the country's population of 16 million people had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and IIFL Home Finance Limited (IIFL) have signed an agreement for a USD1 million technical assistance (TA) that will help promote green and affordable housing solutions in India.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh, as Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Canberra (ACC), on August 10 presided over a meeting between representatives of ASEAN nations and Pacific island countries on labour issues.

The Philippine economy posted the fastest year-on-year growth in more than three decades in the second quarters of 2021.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced it has appointed Yong Ye as its new Country Director for Pakistan, effective immediately.

Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn said Cambodia welcomes the resumption of negotiations on a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea (called the East Sea in Vietnam) as it reflects the commitment of ASEAN and China to maintain regional stability by managing differences as per international law.

(CPV) - The rollout of vaccines to protect children against cervical cancer, pneumonia, and rotavirus has begun in Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a USD500 million loan on August 6th 2021 to help the Government of Pakistan procure and deploy safe and effective coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines and strengthen the country’s capacity to implement its vaccination program.

Malaysia, one of the six founding nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), virtually celebrated the 54th anniversary of the bloc on August 6.

The Ministry of Health of Cambodia reported another 588 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily number since the start of the pandemic outbreak.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Timor-Leste have signed a USD47 million loan to help provide safe, reliable, and affordable water supply and sanitation services to about 62,000 people living in Lospalos, Viqueque, and Same.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has welcomed ASEAN's decision to appoint Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as their special envoy to Myanmar.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on August 5 emphasised that the UK has become the first country to be awarded the status of a dialogue partner by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the past 25 years.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of the Marshall Islands signed a USD2 million grant today to extend and expand support for public financial management and state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms in the country.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD112 million loan to finance water supply infrastructure in four towns in the state of Jharkhand.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishamuddin Hussein underscored the importance of regional cooperation to ensure that the East Sea is a water of peace and stability during the virtual ASEAN-US Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on August 4.

The 54th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM-54), which took place recently via videoconference, issued a joint communiqué highlighting the East Sea (South China Sea) situation.

Japan's government has decided to donate medical equipment worth 2.52 million USD in total to Laos and Thailand to support the two countries in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 54th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM-54) opened on August 2 via videoconference, marking the beginning of a series of 20 meetings between ASEAN Foreign Ministers and their partners.

Foreign ministers of ASEAN countries and Japan agreed on the importance of freedom of navigation in the East Sea (internationally known as South China Sea) during their virtual meeting on August 3.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and New Hope Singapore Private Limited (NHS) have signed a USD20 million loan agreement to help poultry, aquaculture, and other livestock farmers in eight countries across South and Southeast Asia continue their operations during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

ASEAN member countries on August 2 committed to maintaining nuclear weapon-free Southeast Asia and ensuring the right to using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes of countries.