ASEAN and the world

General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the ruling State Administration Council (SAC) of Myanmar, declared a five-month ceasefire when meeting with visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen in Nay Pyi Taw on January 7.

Aid officials in the Philippines have warned of a health crisis as millions of people in the country are struggling to secure clean water and food in areas wrecked by a typhoon last month.

The Consular Affairs Department of the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs has added citizens from 14 more countries to the list of nationalities eligible to travel to Laos under the Green Travel Zone Plan.

Cambodia will strengthen ASEAN’s central role so as to maintain peace, security and prosperity as Chair of ASEAN for 2022, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn said on December 29.

Despite the spread of Omicron variant cases, Cambodia will continue to fully resume the re-opening of socio-economic activities which began on November 1, said Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techno Hun Sen.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has allocated USD4.1 million in technical assistance to help agri-food value chains and rural economies in Asia and the Pacific recover from the impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Malaysia's Consumer Price Index (CPI) in November 2021 increased 3.3 percent year-on-year to 124 points, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

The United Nations on December 24 raised 107.2 million USD in a campaign to support survivors of super typhoon Rai that hit the Philippines last week.

Prices in Singapore are rising more sharply than expected, with inflation at its highest in several years.

The Indonesian government expects GDP growth in the final quarter of 2021 to exceed 5 percent thanks to eased mobility restrictions and a recovering global economy, according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Chongqing Tianzow Animal Husbandry Technology Limited have signed loan agreements of up to USD30 million (in equivalent yuan) to scale up high-quality pig breeding stock volumes and provide income for smallholder farmers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD162 million loan that will electrify 465 kilometers of railway line connecting major urban centers in western Uzbekistan, improving railway services and boosting trade and tourism in the region.

Lao government has announced a plan to reopen to foreign visitors starting from January 1, 2022, according to a notice issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has set up a USD1.7 million technical assistance facility to accelerate Southeast Asia’s tourism recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, boost inclusive, sustainable development in the sector, and help local tourism entrepreneurs, especially women and youth, adopt digital platforms to grow their businesses.

(CPV) -Southeast Asia’s youth and women bore the brunt of job losses during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released on December 16th 2021.

The Lao Ministry of Health announced on December 12 that a total of 1,274 new COVID-19 cases, all community infections, have been recorded in 18 provinces and cities across the country over the past 24 hours.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) revised its economic growth outlook for developing Asia, down slightly to 7.0% this year and 5.3% next year, after renewed outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) led to slower growth in the third quarter.

Three research books on international relations were launched on December 10 as part of the cooperative project in selection and publication between the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation (KAS) in Vietnam.

Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung has highlighted the need to ensure the Party’s leadership in diplomatic work and the importance of combination of Party, State and people-to-people diplomacy.

Thailand's economy may return to levels logged before the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Bank of Thailand (BOT) governor.

Singapore's economy will grow by 4 percent next year, likely be driven by improvements in the construction sector as well as manufacturing and finance, according to a survey of professional forecasters.

Indonesia’s creative economy could contribute up to 20 percent to the global economy, according to Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD603 million results-based lending program to strengthen and expand social protection programs in Pakistan.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD350 million policy-based loan to improve urban services in India.

President Joko Widodo on December 6 said Indonesia is one of the five countries in the world that have managed to control the COVID-19 pandemic at level 1.

Cambodia on December 5 removed its ban on travellers from 10 African countries after a nearly one-week suspension due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to Health Minister Mam Bunheng.

Indonesia and Switzerland have signed an agreement on the exchange of young professionals within the framework of their bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IE-CEPA).

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $125 million loan to improve access to quality water supply and sanitation services in Uttarakhand, India.

The ASEAN Centre at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) of Russia on November 27 organised a cultural and music festival of ASEAN countries as part of activities to celebrate the 30th founding anniversary of relations between the two sides.

Cambodia’s National Assembly (NA) on November 25 approved the draft budget of 8.5 billion USD for the government spending in 2022, a rise of 8.4 percent over that of 2021.