ASEAN and the world

On December 25th, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a groundbreaking ceremony to modernize and connect railways and roads across the inter-Korean border.

The year 2018 marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) featured with political trust, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

On December 24th, the White House said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited his US counterpart Donald Trump to visit Turkey in 2019.

Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan on December 24th said the RoK and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) would set up joint teams for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Vladimir Putin held his annual press conference on December 20th, attracting more than 1,700 journalists to attend.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on December 20th agreed to conduct joint inspection on roads along the DPRK’s eastern coast.

Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Kang Kyung-wha is paying a visit to Malaysia on December 20th-21st to strengthen Malaysia-RoK relations.

The World Bank (WB) said on December 21st that it has revised down its growth projections for the Philippines to 6.4 percent in 2018 and 6.5 percent in 2019 as persistently high inflation affects consumer spending.

On December 19th, the Republic of Korea (RoK) organized a meeting of its special committee to check the implementation of inter-Korean agreements, at the presidential office in Seoul.

(CPV) - ADB and the Government of Mongolia signed a USD20 million loan agreement on December 20th 2018 to expand the scope of ongoing wastewater treatment projects to an additional five provincial centers of Mongolia.

Nadia Murad, who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, said she would use the prize money to build a hospital for victims of sexual abuse in her hometown.

US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, from January 22nd, 2019.

The two Koreas have agreed to hold a ground-breaking ceremony for a project to reconnect railways and roads across the divided peninsula on December 26th.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their partners, namely China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (RoK) agreed on December 14th to revise the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) Agreement – a regional financial safety net.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their partners, namely China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (RoK) agreed on December 14th to revise the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) Agreement – a regional financial safety net.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (RoK) on December 12th discussed health cooperation, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry officials.

(CPV) - Senior officials of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) will convene this week at the 10th GMS Economic Corridors Forum (ECF-10) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar to discuss ways to fast-track infrastructure development and boost growth along key economic corridors connecting the subregion.

(CPV) - Economies in developing Asia and the Pacific are weathering external challenges thanks to robust domestic demand, while inflationary pressures are abating, says a new report from ADB.

The 2018 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to 12 new laureates for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.

Brazil President-elect Jair Bolsonaro on December 9th appointed rightist lawyer Ricardo Salles as Environment Minister, completing his 22-member cabinet.

Seoul’s Ministry of Unification on December 10th announced the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) will discuss to host the 2032 Summer Olympics and participating together in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on December 9th completed a joint waterway inspection of the estuaries of the Han and Imjin rivers.

Thailand and Laos have agreed to strengthen cooperation on drug prevention and suppression to promote peace and cooperation in the border regions of the two countries.

Vietnamese tourists to China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will enjoy tax refund as the locality plans to apply the policy on foreigners staying in China within 183 days as well as tourists from China’s Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan from December 11th.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced Shamila Batohi as the new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).

The meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Foreign Ministers took place at North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Seoul’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on December 5th announced that Republic of Korea (RoK), China and Japan will hold their 14th round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) to boost trade and investment between the Asian neighbors.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Foreign Miniser Ri Yong-ho began his official visit to China on December 6th at the invitation of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The 24th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, otherwise known as COP24, opened in Katowice (Poland) on December 2nd.

Andres Manuel Lopez has been sworn in as President of Mexico at a ceremony in the country’s Parliament, becoming the country’s first leftist President in more than 70 years.