Finance ministers and central banks’ governors of ASEAN Member States and China, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan (ASEAN+3) have agreed to intensify regional financial cooperation.
Jakarta (VNA) – Finance ministers and central banks’ governors of ASEANMember States and China, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan (ASEAN+3) haveagreed to intensify regional financial cooperation.
The consensus was reached at the 26th ASEAN+3Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors Meeting held in Incheon, the RoKon May 2.
Speaking at a press conference in Jakarta on May 3,Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who co-chaired themeeting, said that strengthening regional financial cooperation is implementedthrough the initiatives under the Regional Financing Arrangements (RFA) FutureDirection, Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM), ASEAN+3Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), and Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI).
The parties also agreed to boost financial collaborationthrough the ASEAN+3 Future Initiatives which comprise of infrastructurefinancing, study on non-lending facility, disaster risk financing (DRF),harnessing digital advancement (FinTech), as well as several strategic thematicstudies on Financial Digitalisation, sustainable finance, corporate debt,household debt, and Local Currency Transaction (LCT).
At the meeting, the minister also conveyed the robust growthof ASEAN+3 economies of 3.2% in 2022, despite the lingering effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The region is expected to grow by 4.6% in 2023, led byrobust domestic demand as the economic recovery continues to gain traction.
Governor of Bank Indonesia, Perry Warjiyo, highlighted thatcurrent challenges and heavy reliance on certain dominant currency forinternational trade and investment settlement could raise vulnerability andincrease the risk of financial stability in ASEAN+3. Therefore, ASEAN+3 needsto be innovative to be able to preserve stability, amidst remained highinflation, tighter liquidity conditions narrower policy room, and strong dollarenvironment. Under this circumstances, Governor Perry emphasised the importanceof strengthening and enhancing the cooperation among ASEAN+3 countries onpayment connectivity by promoting more extensive use of local currency fortransactions./.
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At the event (Photo: VNA) 
