AFCDM+3: review progress of new initiatives in ASEAN+3 Financial Cooperation Progress 

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Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha and Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong chair the meeting in Ha Noi.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Director of the ASEAN+3 Regional Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), ASEAN Deputy Secretary General, Finance and Central Bank Deputies of ASEAN+3 countries.Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong and Japanese partners chaired the meeting.

At the meeting, the ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies and partners from China, South Korea and Japan discussed the financial cooperation initiatives within the region, such as the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), Asian Bond Market Development (ABMI), reviewed new initiatives on financial cooperation in ASEAN+3, and endorsed the AMRO’s medium-term policies and plans.

The meeting welcomed achievements in continuing to improve the CMIM agreement to meet new requirements of the finance market and match the coordination mechanism between CMIM and IMF towards the target of bringing CMIM to become an effective tool to complement the regional and global financial safety net.

The meeting highly appreciated the efforts of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) as an international organisation, which has effectively implemented macro-economic monitoring activities and supported members to strengthen capacity in policy making, in the context of human and budget constraints. The meeting also adopted the AMRO's 2021 Budget and Staffing Level and AMRO Director's 2019 Performance Assessment.

The meeting in Ha Noi

Deputies also recognized the progress and outcomes of ABMI working groups in researching and improving the environment to attract investors, developing new investment tools, improving the legal framework, developing infrastructure for the bond market and the launching of technical assistance programs to develop the domestic bond market in member economies.

To enhance regional economic and financial stability, the Deputies reviewed the progress of new initiatives under the 'Strategic Directions of ASEAN+3 Finance Process”, including promoting local currency usage for trade and investment settlement, as well as payment connectivity, developing comprehensive initiative on infrastructure financing, designing more supporting facilities to help members better deal with macro-critical structural issues, exploring cooperation in the fields of mitigation and adaptation of climate change i.e. Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF), and enhancing policy coordination to harness benefits of technological advancement while minimising financial risks.

In addition to the informal agenda, deputies had a special discussion on "Strategy, Action and Policy Perspectives against Covid-19 Pandemic" to share policy measures to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and update and assess macroeconomic outlooks in regional countries.

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The AFCDM + 3 delivered a fruitful discussion. Its deliverables will be submitted to the Finance Ministers and the Central Bank Governors Meeting in September for endorsement and guidance for the ASEAN+3 financial cooperation in the up coming years.