ASEAN and the world

Thai Oil Plc (TOP), Thailand’s the largest oil refining company by capacity, is looking forward to pouring its investment in Vietnam, Indonesia and India, in the fields of oil refinery, lube oil and high-value petrochemical products.

The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR), in cooperation with the International Energy Agency (IEA), has unveiled the Indonesia Net Zero Emission (NZE) Roadmap for the energy sector of 2060.

The headline consumer price index (CPI) of Thailand in August rose 7.86% year-on-year, the highest level since July 2008, the Thai Ministry of Commerce reported on September 5.

Cambodia and Thailand have signed an agreement on the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on law enforcement cooperation against human trafficking, according to a statement from Cambodia's National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT) on August 29.

(CPV) - The COVID-19 pandemic has set back the fight against poverty in Asia and the Pacific by at least 2 years, and many in the region will likely find it harder than before to escape poverty, according to a report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) concluded in New York in the United States on August after nearly four weeks of working, during which Vietnam contributed to promoting the NPT’s role as part of global security.

Winners of the ASEAN Plus Youth Volunteer Award 2022 were announced at a ceremony in the central province of Quang Binh on August 26 evening.

Cambodia authorities had rescued some 865 foreigners from human trafficking in 87 cases from January 1 to August 20, 2022, Deputy Minister and Minister of the Interior Sar Kheng said on August 26.

The Lao Ministry of Education and Sport issued 10 measures and 40 recommendations nationwide to ensure safe school openings amid COVID-19 pandemic when the new academic year begins on September 1.

Cambodia expects to welcome 1.2-1.3 million international tourists in 2022, said Director General of Tourism Development and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Tourism Thong Rathasak.

Indonesia celebrated its Independence Day in its future capital city of Nusantara for the first time on August 17.

(CPV) - Big data holds immense potential in fast-tracking post-COVID-19 economic recovery in Southeast Asia, with benefits in public health, social welfare and protection, and education valued at over USD100 billion, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report launched on August 17th 2022.

On August 13, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ASEAN Women's Circle of Hanoi (AWCH) jointly held the ASEAN Family Day 2022, on the occasion of ASEAN’s 55th founding anniversary and the 27th anniversary of Vietnam’s accession to the regional organisation.

Thaland's National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) reckoned that the Thai economy can be affected by three scenarios taking into account the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and other geopolitical conflicts.

Thousands of troops from Indonesia, the US, and allies held a live-fire drill on August 12 as part of the Super Garuda Shield 2022.

Thailand topped the list of rubber exporting countries in the first half of this year, with shipments of 2.19 million tonnes valued at 70.5 billion THB (2 billion USD), Advisor to Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Alongkorn Ponlaboot revealed on August 12.

Indonesia’s economy expanded 5.44 % in the second quarter of 2022, up slightly from the 5.01% growth recorded in the first quarter according to Statistics Indonesia.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said that the Republic of Korea has agreed to support the development of the country's new capital (IKN) Nusantara with a total investment of 6.37 billion USD.

Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on July 8 said five cases of the COVID-19 Omicron BA.5 variant have been detected in the country and are likely to spread widely.

(CPV) - Better business environments across Southeast Asia are critical to rejuvenating firms hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the key message delivered at the regional webinar “Better Local Business Environments for Pandemic Recovery in Southeast Asia” on 29 June in Manila (Philippines), at which policy makers from across the region discussed national and subnational policies to drive economic and social recovery.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Kingdom convened the inaugural ASEAN-UK Joint Cooperation Committee (AUKJCC) Meeting via videoconference on June 24, marking the start of a formal partnership to strengthen their long-standing ties.

(CPV) - Meeting in person for the first time since the COVID pandemic began, the Global Environment Facility’s governing body approved the final tranche of its seventh funding cycle and endorsed record donor contributions for the coming four years as the partnership rallied around the need to invest in improved planetary health.

Malaysia recorded net foreign investment inflows of 48.1 billion ringgit (10.93 billion USD) in 2021, the highest since 2016, signaling the robust recovery, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau has attended workshops themed “Act East through North East” and “Natural Allies in Development and Interdependence” held recently by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Government of Assam State.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD250 million policy-based loan to support the Philippines in its climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD400 million policy-based loan to help the Philippine government further deepen the country’s domestic capital markets and increase the supply of long-term finance, especially for infrastructure development, which is crucial for the country’s sustained economic growth.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) responded effectively to its clients’ urgent needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic and should accelerate efforts to achieve the vision of its Strategy 2030 to support recovery and the Sustainable Development Goals, according to its Development Effectiveness Review (DEfR) released on May 25th 2022.

(CPV) - Transforming Southeast Asia’s established tourism, garments, and agro-processing industries, and leveraging advances in electronics and digital trade, could support the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched at the middle of May.

(CPV) - The Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved ADB’s 2021 financial statements and net income allocation at the first stage of the bank’s 55th Annual Meeting on May 5th 2022.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a ceiling of up to USD18 billion in policy-based lending (PBL) between 2022 and 2024 and enhanced its crisis-response instruments to support its developing member countries (DMCs) as they pursue a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery.