ASEAN and the world

Infrastructure development projects in Southeast Asia will create significant financing needs and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must do more to attract private capital to plug the gap, said Singaporean Minister of Finance Heng Swee Keat.

A Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), as part of the preparation process for the NAM Mid-Term Ministerial Meeting, opened in Baku, Azerbaijan, on April 3rd - 4th.

The 7th Conference on International Security, themed “The development outlook in the Middle East following the routing of ISIS in Syria”, took place on April 4th in Moskva.

A workshop on "ASEAN and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy" was held by the Mission of Japan to ASEAN and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 4 to discuss regional security threats.

(CPV) - ADB and the Government of Mongolia signed three loan and one grant agreements totaling USD207 million on April 4th 2018 to help improve air quality and quality of life in Ulaanbaatar; sustain people’s access to quality education; and improve inclusivity by providing better opportunities for people with disabilities in the country.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho on April 3rd has left Pyongyang for visits to China, Azerbaijan and Russia.

The US Department of State on April 3rd announced that the India - Japan - US trilateral dialogue will be held in New Delhi, India on April 4th, ahead of a summit between American President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

A number of leaders around the world have congratulated Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on his re-election for the second term.

On April 2nd, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced he planned to visit the US from April 17th - 20th for talks with President Donald Trump.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on April 2nd said Japan was ready to assume the G20 Presidency.

About 1,400 doctors and health workers in Indonesia are ready for the 18th Asian Games (ASIAD 18), which will take place in the country from August 18th to September 2nd.

(CPV) - ADB's Board of Directors has approved a USD100 million results-based loan as additional financing for the Government of Sri Lanka’s efforts to develop skills to meet labor demands, support economic diversification, and enhance productivity in the country.

On March 31st, the Turkish Presidential Office said Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey to participate in the 7th session of the Russia - Turkey High Level Cooperation Council from April 3rd - 4th.

On March 31st, Botswana’s President lan Khama, a retired army general, announced he was stepping down after about 10 years in power.

(CPV) - ADB President Takehiko Nakao congratulated the six member countries at the Summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) on 25 years of successful regional cooperation on March 31st 2018. He reaffirmed ADB’s continued support to the program, with USD7 billion expected over the next 5 years to help the subregion achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development.

The ban on political activities, which has been imposed in Thailand since the coup d’état in May 2014, will be lifted in June when all new political parties are established, said Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.

Mr. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has won his second term as Egypt’s President after winning roughly 90% of the vote.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on March 29th met with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono at the 9th India - Japan Strategic Dialogue for discussing ways to strengthen their bilateral ties.

Voting for the presidential election started in Egypt on March 26th.

Thailand's Cabinet on March 27th approved a project building a 220-kilometer high speed train network which will connect three main international airports of Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao.

(CPV) - ADB's Board of Directors has approved USD100 million in additional financing to extend and expand the scope of its Supply Chain Finance Program (SCFP), helping more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia and the Pacific address financing gaps and boost their contribution to the region’s economic growth and development.

200,000 police are mobilized to tighten security ahead of the presidential election in Egypt, as a car bomb explosion in northern Egypt has killed at least two people.

On March 26th, Mexico and the US signed three accords to improve bilateral customs procedures and expedite the flow of agricultural produce across their almost 3,220-km border, the two governments said.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has said Thailand must transform itself into a technology and innovation-driven economy to prepare for the decreasing role of manual labour.

A fire broke on March 25th out on the top floor of a four-story building in the Winter Cherry’s shopping mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, killing at least 48 people, including many children.

(CPV) - ADB President Takehiko Nakao addressed the China Development Forum (CDF), which opened on March 25th 2018 in Beijing. Mr. Nakao will meet Premier Li Keqiang along with other participants of the CDF. He also participated in a roundtable with Vice Premier Liu He.

President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Moon Jae-in and spouse on March 24th concluded their three-day State visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Tran Dai Quang.

Canada's Minister of International Trade Francois-Philippe Champagne began his three-day visit on March 22nd to Singapore, aiming to bolster trade and investment with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Singapore in particular.

US President Donald Trump on March 22d appointed Mr. John Bolton, former US ambassador and Fox News analyst, as the National Security Adviser.

A ceremony to commemorate the second anniversary of two deadly terror attacks at Brussels Airport in Zaventem and one at Maalbeek metro station in central Brussels was held on March 22nd.