ASEAN and the world

The 67th Bilderberg Meeting will take place in Montreux, Switzerland, from May 30th - June 2nd.

(CPV) - ADB has approved USD38 million in loans to develop ecotourism in Khuvsgul Lake National Park and Onon-Balj National Park to serve as models for economically inclusive development and conservation in Mongolia.

The Korean Healthy Security Measures Association (KHSMA), an advocacy group for war veterans, held a press conference with foreign correspondents on May 27th in Seoul to condemn the use of Agent Orange during the war in Vietnam and protest the lack of compensation from the US administration for all the victims in the Republic of Korea (RoK) of the toxic chemical.

Australian Prime Minister (PM) Scott Morrison has named his first cabinet, including a record seven women.

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister (PM) of India, hours after he was elected the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the National Democratic Alliance.

Gitanas Nauseda, a former member of the board of the National Bank of Lithuania, has been elected President of Lithuania on May 26th.

(CPV) - ADB has approved a USD300 million loan to support the Philippine government’s efforts to achieve inclusive growth by improving access to high quality secondary education that responds to labor market needs.

The House of Representatives of Thailand elected Chuan Leekpai from the Democrat Party as is new speaker on May 25th.

(CPV) - ADB has approved a USD7.64 million loan to support the construction of a 100-megawatt (MW) solar power park in Cambodia, which will help the country develop renewable energy resources, diversify its energy mix, and improve the competitiveness of its economy.

The 9th meeting of the ASEAN-Australia Joint Cooperation Committee took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 24th.

Indonesia deployed thousands of soldiers and police officers in Jakarta on May 23rd after protests in opposition of the official results of the country’s recent presidential election turned violent.

(CPV) - ADB has approved a USD170 million loan to help improve Uzbekistan’s railway fleet through the procurement of 24 state-of-the-art electric locomotives. The new locomotives will enhance the performance of the railway system by offering cleaner, more reliable, and efficient passenger and freight transport services.

(CPV) - ADB has signed a USD4 million loan with a special purpose vehicle and subsidiaries owned by the 77 Construction, Contracting, and Trading Group (77 Group), an international civil works contracting firm headquartered in Turkey, to help build a 15.1 megawatt (MW) solar power plant and promote the development of renewable energy in Afghanistan.

Thailand’s economy saw a slower growth than expected in the first quarter of 2019, reaching the lowest level in the last four years.

Incumbent Indonesian President Joko Widodo, accompanied by his running mate Ma’ruf Amin, made a victory speech in Central Jakarta on May 21st, following the official announcement of the results of the presidential and legislative elections.

US President Donald Trump lifted steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico on May 20th that were imposed a year ago in an effort to gain leverage in broader trade negotiations, the White House said.

The second inter-Korean border trail along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that demarcates the two Koreas will be opened to civilian hikers next month, officials said on May 20th.

General Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on May 20th urged different political factions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to unite in the battle against Ebola, warning that the risk of spread "remains very high".

Twenty one member economies of the Asia – Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum have voiced their support for free trade in the context that global economy is being affected by the US-China trade war.

(CPV) - The Office of the Compliance Review Panel (CRP) of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Accountability Mechanism is helping to develop an Accountability Mechanism Framework for financial intermediaries to manage environmental and social risks, as well as safeguards compliance and accountability.

Security was tightened outside Indonesia’s election agency on May 20th when official results of a presidential poll are released this week.

India has concluded its marathon seven-phase national elections on May 19th, the country's Election Commission has announced.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China hold the 17th senior officials’ meeting (SOM) on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the East Sea (DOC) in Hangzhou, China, on May 17th and 18th.

The World Bank has reassured support for Thailand’s business sector since the government has conducted bureaucratic reforms to facilitate businesses, reduce costs while the country’s ranking on difficulties versus eases in doing business has improved.

The tenth meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN and the ambassadors of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 17th.

The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) kicked off a campaign for the provincial, municipal and district council election in Phnom Penh on May 17th.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) says the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo is “worsening” and has killed more than 1,000 people.

Australia’s 23rd Prime Minister and Labor elder statesman Bob Hawke has died at the age of 89.

Those parts relating to Hong Kong (China) and five Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, under the Investment Agreement (IA) between Hong Kong and ASEAN, will enter into force on June 17, a spokesperson for China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government was cited by China’s Xinhua News Agency on May 16th.

Malaysia’s economy grew by 4.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019.