ASEAN and the world

The Lao Government’s decision to make 2018 the year of Lao tourism has produced positive results, particularly an 8.2 percent increase in the number of foreign visitors, said Lao Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Bosengkham Vongdala.

The Malaysian government has set up the Economic Action Council led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to address economic matters as well as the welfare of the people.

More than 500 people have died from the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar has announced at a snowy rally in Minnesota that she will be running for President of the United States in the 2020 election.

Cambodia welcomed approximately 1 million domestic and international visitors during the 2019 Lunar New Year holiday, up 8 percent against the same period last year.

US President Donald Trump has announced that his upcoming meeting with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong-un slated for late February will take place in Hanoi, Vietnam.

A number of countries across the world are beginning their Lunar New Year celebrations.

In addition to destinations in ASEAN, Vietnamese tourists also enjoy other places such as the Republic of Korea, Japan or the Middle East on the lunar New Year.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has launched his campaign for re-election in March’s vote.

(CPV) - ADB reaffirmed its commitment to support Afghanistan’s energy development priorities at a ceremony organized by Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) to recognize the support of ADB and other development partners to the energy sector.

(CPV) - ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao and the Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Secretary Mr. Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. met on January 29th 2019 to discuss stronger partnership on institutional matters.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) has proposed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) jointly commemorating the 100th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement against Japan’s colonial rule.

US President Donald Trump on January 28th accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation to give his State of the Union Address on February 5th.

(CPV) - ADB has raised 30.4688 billion tenge (around USD80 million) from two new issues of local currency bonds in Kazakhstan.

280 artists of an art troupe from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) arrived in the Chinese capital Beijing on January 24th to put on a performance.

The World Economic Forum (WEF), attracting 3,000 participants, has opened in Dovos, Switzerland on January 22nd.

Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on January 22nd in Moscow for talks to find a solution to a territorial disagreement over the Kuril Islands.

The US News & World Report on January 23rd announced the list of the world’s best countries in 2019 and Switzerland still maintains its No.1 overall position in the ranking for the third consecutive year.

(CPV) - Solomon Islands’ new, commercially oriented state-owned enterprise (SOE) policy will help ensure the government’s public investments remain efficient and profitable, says the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

On January 21st, Russia held a ceremony to mark the 95th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin's death, at the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square.

The White House has announced that the 2nd summit between US President Donald Trump and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s leader Kim Jong-un will take place in late February.

Kamala Harris, a California senator and longtime prosecutor, just announced that she’s running for the Democratic nomination for President, saying she is “very excited about it”.

Democratic US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has announced that she is running for President in 2020.

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, next week, her ministry announced on January 17th.

On January 17th, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Serbia for his fourth visit to the Balkan country.

The ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM ASEAN) took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on January 16th-17th.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on January 14th said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Japan in June.

Palestine on January 15th assumed the chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China, taking over from Egypt, at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son Hui on January 15th traveled to Sweden for an international conference.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 13th said that details are being worked out for the possible second summit between President Donald Trump and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s leader Kim Jong-un.