ASEAN and the world

Hyundai Group and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee held a joint event on November 18th to mark the 20th anniversary of the inter-Korean tourism program at the Mount Geumgang.

President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Moon Jae-in on November 18th proposed that the nations of Asia and the Pacific regions establish the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital Innovation Fund to improve the region’s digital capabilities.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have reaffirmed to maintain freedom of navigation in the East Sea, a vital shipping lane for Southeast Asian nations.

Russia will invite officials and enterprises from ASEAN member countries to attend the 22nd annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg (SPIEF–2018) and the Eastern Economic Forum in the country in 2019, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Thai Government has proposed to host the first ASEAN summit in June, instead of the previously suggested date in April, when Thailand chairs the group in 2019, due to worries about a delay in the country’s next general election, according to Thai media on November 14th.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump are expected to hold a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

President of the Councils of State and Ministers Miguel Diaz-Canel arrived in London on November 12th to begin his official visit to the United Kingdom.

Cambodia on November 12th set a fourth Guinness Record for the longest dragon boat, which measures on 87.3-meter-long and 1.94-meter-wide.

Myanmar earned nearly USD436 million from exporting rice and broken rice from April 1st to October 26th this year, according to the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).

The first ever edition of the Paris Peace Forum labelled “a global forum for governance projects,” opened on November 11th at the La Grande Halle de La Villette in Paris.

Cambodia marked its 65th Independence Day with a grand meeting held in Phnom Penh capital city on November 9th (1953-2018).

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry on November 8th announced that over 40 African leaders are expected to attend the 11th African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit, which will take place from November 17th - 18th at the headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Nearly 400 representatives of Governments and businesses, and experts at the New Economy Forum in Singapore on November 6th-7th agreed on the need to promote the private economic sector in order to increase the firm connectivity of the global trade.

(CPV) - The Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a finance package totaling more than USD200 million to improve the rural road network for 51.5 million people in Bangladesh.

(CPV) - Internet-based technologies, notably e-commerce, have revitalized rural markets in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by improving the quality of agricultural produce and in connecting small farmers with big markets, which has helped reduce poverty in the countryside, according to a new ADB publication launched on November 6th 2018.

The Republic of Korea (RoK), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United Nations Command on October 6th held follow-up talks on disarming the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the inter-Korean border areas.

President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel on November 6th arrived in Shanghai and began an official three-day visit to the People’s Republic of China.

The Republic of Korea earned USD82.32 billion from exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) in the January-October period this year, an increase of 4.7 percent year on year, according to Yonhap news agency.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has expected his country to become a startup centre of the world that will attract crowds of businesses from multiple countries.

The Malaysian government on November 2nd submitted to the legislature the 2019 Budget, which is expected to help restore the Malaysian economy as an Asian Tiger, according to the New Straits Times.

(CPV) - ADB's Board of Directors has approved a total of USD78 million to complete the rehabilitation of a road that connects two major transport corridors linking the land-locked country to international markets.

India on October 31st inaugurated the world’s tallest statue, Statue of Unity, located in the western state of Gujarat, to commemorates independence leader Sardar Vallabbhai Patel.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on November 1st arrived in Russia for talks expected to focus on expanding economic ties between the two nations.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held sports talks on November 2nd to discuss ways to cooperate on future Olympic Games.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that Mr. Geir O. Pedersen was appointed as his Special Envoy for Syria.

(CPV) - The Board of Directors of ADB has approved a USD75 million grant to help in the development of horticulture value chains in Afghanistan, empowering farmers, crop producers, as well as agriculture enterprises to become major contributors to the country’s economy.

The White House on October 29th said President Donald Trump called Brazil’s newly-elected President immediately after his victory last Sunday night.

Friedrich Merz, the former Union faction leader, on October 30th officially announced his candidacy for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Chairmanship.

Canada has filed its notice of ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with New Zealand which acts as the depository country overseeing the deal’s implementation.

The Czech Republic has marked the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s Independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the biggest military parade in its post-communist history.