INCHEON, South Korea— Finance ministers and central bank governors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus 3 region aim to closely monitor emerging and structural issues facing the region through the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).
In a statement, the ASEAN+3 finance ministers and central governors called on AMRO to focus on these issues through its Strategic Direction 2030 (SD2030) and Medium-term Implementation Plan (MTIP).
These issues, the Finance Ministers said, are financial digital transformation, climate change, population aging, and supply chain reconfiguration. Monitoring these would help in supporting the members’ steady development in these areas.
“The Meeting encourages AMRO to further enhance its visibility and continue to actively forge synergies with peer institutions,” ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting said.
The ASEAN+3 officials also said higher frequency and severity of natural disasters underscored the importance of exerting effort to improve the region’s resilience to potential economic and financial risks.
The finance ministers and central bank governors recognized initiatives for Disaster Risk Financing (DRF), including the Working Group (WG) 3 and the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF).
WG3 and SEADRIF received support from the ASEAN Secretariat and the World Bank and played an important role in this regard.
The finance ministers and central bank governors also welcomed the upgrading of DRF as a regular agenda under the ASEAN+3 finance track.
“The 2023-2025 Action Plan of the ASEAN+3 Disaster Risk Financing Initiative was endorsed at the Meeting, which sets out the key actions to explore insurance solutions and other financial products, facilitate knowledge exchange, and develop technical solutions including a regional data repository and monitoring tool, building on the existing regional initiatives such as the ASEAN Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance (ADRFI) and SEADRIF,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the ASEAN+3 finance ministers and central bank governors also welcomed the implementation of Asian Bond Markets Initiative Medium-Term Road Map 2019-2022, which received support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Th We officials also commended the Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF)’s efforts to expand and innovate the issuance of local currency (LCY) bonds.
The ABMI Medium-Term Road Map 2023-2026 was endorsed at the meeting. It highlighted future directions and major activities, including the promotion of sustainable finance regionally.
The road map also sought to improve the regulatory and market framework and create a better foundation for cross-border transactions and promote digital transformation to integrate the ASEAN+3 financial markets.
It also promoted LCY liquidity provision to mitigate risks in cross-border transactions and continued and more tailored support for LCY bond market development.