ASEAN and the world

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today approved a USD100 million loan to support the Government of Bangladesh in its efforts to address the immediate public health requirements of combatting the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

(CPV) - Climate activist Greta Thunberg launched a child rights driven campaign with Danish NGO Human Act on April 30th 2020 to support UNICEF’s efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and protect children from its direct and knock-on consequences. These include food shortages, strained healthcare systems, violence and lost education.

Forbes magazine in Israel recently ran article entitled “Why should we think more about Vietnam?” that highlighted the country’s political, economic, and diplomatic achievements and its successful fight against COVID-19.

The Thai Government has decided to allow six types of businesses and activities to restart on May 3 as the first step to loosen lockdown restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the SARS-CoV-2.

The EU announced on April 27th that it is mobilising 350 million EUR (378 million USD) in an effort to help ASEAN members fight COVID-19.

(CPV) - UNICEF is stepping up donations of health and hygiene items for families and health workers in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of COVID-19 infections continued to increase in Southeast Asian nations on April 25th.

The Singaporean Ministry of Health on April 24th confirmed 897 more COVID-19 cases, taking the total count to 12,075, the highest among Southeast Asian countries.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on April 23rd criticised recent actions of China in the East Sea, including its announcement of the establishment of “Xisha district” (Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago) and “Nansha district” (Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago) within the so-called “Sansha city,” and China coast guard vessel's sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD100 million loan to help supply renewable energy to Mongolia by installing its first large-scale advanced battery energy storage system (BESS).

(CPV) - Pre-existing conditions such as poverty, insecurity, weak governance and fragile infrastructure in low-and middle-income countries threaten to exacerbate the impact of COVID-19 if not immediately addressed. UNDP’s Rapid Response Facility aims to help expedite and facilitate this urgent support.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) returned to the US dollar bond market with the pricing of a USD4.5 billion 5-year global benchmark bond issue, proceeds of which will be part of ADB’s ordinary capital resources.

About 6.33 billion USD of foreign direct investment (FDI) flowed into Indonesia in the first quarter of this year, down 9.2 percent year on year, as the COVID-19 pandemic has halted global investment, said the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

The Philippines is likely to lose about 228 billion PHP (4.5 billion USD) this year in remittances from about 10 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(CPV) - Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa and Bangladesh Finance Minister and ADB Governor A H M Mustafa Kamal discussed ADB’s support to Bangladesh in its fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on April 20th 2020.

(CPV) - ADB announced that ADB Ventures, its new impact investment platform, will soon commence operations after successfully raising the equivalent of USD50 million from multilateral and bilateral development partners and exceeding its first fund close target.

The ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) have issued a joint statement reaffirming commitment to ensure food security, food safety and nutrition in the region during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A grim report on the world economy by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on April 15 caused oil prices to continue to slide, with international prices hitting the lowest level since 2002 as planned output cuts were deemed insufficient to offset a COVID-19-fuelled slump in demand.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded the economic forecast for Thailand in 2020 to a contraction of 6.7 percent, due to impact of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philippine central bank on April 16th lowered its interest rates by 50 basis points to 2.75 percent, the lowest on record, to keep the economy afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that Indonesia’s economic growth will remain in positive territory this year, albeit ever so slightly, as the coronavirus pandemic puts the global economy at risk of its worst recession since the Great Depression of 1930.

(CPV) - Effective immediately, the Managing Board of Siemens AG has decided to set up a COVID-19 aid fund.

The Special ASEAN Summit and Special ASEAN+3 Summit on the COVID-19 response, which took place online on April 14th and were chaired by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, have received intensive coverage in international media.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on April 14th emphasised strengthening the awareness of a community with a shared future for humanity and closer cooperation to clinch an early victory against COVID-19 in East Asia, according to China's Xinhua News Agency.

Leaders attending the online Special ASEAN+3 Summit on COVID-19 response on April 14th shared experience and sought concrete measures to soon stamp out the pandemic.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha emphasised that no country could fight against the COVID-19 threat alone while addressing the online Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19 response on April 14th.

The most important outcome of the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19 is the solidarity and sense of cooperation shown by all ASEAN leaders, the Korean President and Chinese Premier and Japanese Prime Minister in the joint fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, said a Korean diplomat.

The Special ASEAN Summit via video conference on April 14th, 2020 has issued a declaration. The following is the full text of the declaration.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) tripled the size of its response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on April 13th 2020 to USD20 billion and approved measures to streamline its operations for quicker and more flexible delivery of assistance.

US Senator Jim Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with three others, namely Bob Menendez, Cory Gardner and Ed Markey, on April 11th criticised the Chinese Coast Guard’s recent sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago waters in the East Sea.