ASEAN and the world

(CPV) - ADB announced a private sector financing package totaling approximately USD40 million on May 24th 2018 to invest in Indonesia’s first utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants on a project-finance basis. The loan package is part of a two-phased portfolio financing totaling approximately USD160 million for new renewable energy investments in the country.

Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi arrived in the US on May 23rd to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.

Mexico and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board have announced they would send experts to Cuba to join an investigation of the crash of a that killed 110 people.

China and other concerned nations should refrain from actions that further militarise the East Sea and parties need to sit down for negotiation via diplomatic channels to resolve the issue, according to an US expert.

(CPV) - ADB Head of Cofinancing Operations Mr. Kai Preugschat (left, sitting) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) Director Mr. Luis Tejada Chacòn (right, sitting) sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of ADB's Board of Governors in Manila, Philippines.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha reiterated on May 22nd that the general election will take place in early 2019 and no sooner, rejecting the possibility of an earlier election as requested by the opposition party.

(CPV) - ADB and the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) signed an agreement today for a USD30 million policy-based grant for the second subprogram of the Health Sector Governance Program to help expand healthcare coverage and improve health services in the country.

A heatwave has killed 65 people in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi over the past three days.

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s President Moon Jae-in on May 21st arrived in Washington, DC to hold talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump about strategies for Trump's upcoming summit with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s leader Kim Jong-un.

(CPV) - Asia is rapidly evolving as are its development needs. To keep pace with these changing needs and to ensure that solutions multilateral development banks like ADB bring are effective, thorough assessment of their operations is crucial. In its 2018 Annual Evaluation Review (AER), Independent Evaluation at ADB draws out an overall picture of ADB’s performance.

(CPV) - ADB's Board of Directors has approved a USD145 million loan to help improve water supply and sanitation services in the Republic of Karakalpakstan (RK), an autonomous republic in northwestern Uzbekistan. The project will benefit about 388,000 residents, half of whom are women and girls.

Some 20 of the 110 victims have been identified after an ill-fated Cubana de Aviacion Boeing 737-200 crashed shortly after taking off from Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport.

Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi will hold an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on May 21st.

President of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela Tibisay Lucena said that head of state Nicolas Maduro, has been re-elected.

The Philippines and the United States have committed to intensifying joint efforts in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism by sharing military intelligence information.

The Philippine and US armies on May 18th reaffirmed their alliance and joint commitment to addressing security challenges as they ended the year’s largest exercises in the Southeast Asian country.

The ASEAN foreign ministers on May 18th released a statement condemning recent terrorist attacks in Indonesia, according to the ASEAN Secretariat.

(CPV) - ADB Vice-President Mr. Wencai Zhang reaffirmed ADB’s strong development partnership with Kazakhstan during his 3-day visit to the country which concluded today. Mr. Zhang held meetings with Kazakhstan Prime Minister Mr. Bakytzhan Sagintayev and other senior government officials to discuss Kazakh and global economic prospects as well as the new Central Asian trade agenda at the 11th Astana

The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Algeria on May 16th celebrated the first edition of the “International Day of Living Together in Peace” in the capital city Algiers.

The Enterprise Singapore announced on May 17th that the country’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) increased in April after three consecutive months of declining, thanks to the higher increase in non-electronic exports over the decrease in electronic exports.

The US Senate Intelligence Committee has approved Ms. Gina Haspel as President Donald Trump’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s will send two of its diplomats to attend an international forum hosted by the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Unification Ministry in Almaty city in Kazakhstan on May 18th.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 16th received a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s ruling Workers Party delegation, visiting in China at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed an announcement by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to close its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri.

The European Union (EU) and Cuba on May 15th signed a renewable energy deal worth EUR18 million in the framework of the EU-Cuba Joint Council in Brussels.

(CPV) - ADB and the Government of Pakistan agreed to chart new ways to pursue more robust and inclusive ADB investments in the country by scaling up public-private partnerships (PPPs) to tap private sector resources and meet Pakistan’s rising infrastructure needs.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla begins a visit to Europe from May 14th.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is preparing to deploy 4,000 doses of Ebola vaccine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to control the outbreak.

(CPV) - ADB has appointed Ms. Amy S.P. Leung as the new Director General of its East Asia Department (EARD), where she will lead ADB’s engagement with the People’s Republic of China (PRC); Hong Kong, China; the Republic of Korea; Mongolia; and Taipei,China.

Foreign Affairs Adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yuri Ushakov said the President will hold a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo Abe in Moscow on May 26th.