Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), plus China, Japan and South Korea, have pledged to enhance financial cooperation to achieve resilient, inclusive and sustainable economic growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pledge was made during the 24th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Meeting (AFMGM+3) which was held virtually on Monday in Brunei.

Co-chairing the meeting were Haji Ahmaddin, Brunei's deputy minister of finance and economy (Fiscal), Hajah Rokiah, managing director of the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD), Hong Nam-Ki, deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance of South Korea, and Lee Ju-yeol, governor of the Bank of Korea.

During the Economic Policy Review Dialogue session, together with the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, ASEAN Plus Three Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), as well as the ASEAN Secretariat, the ministers and governors exchanged views on the global and the regional macro-economic outlook as well as collective efforts to sustain regional recovery.

Among others, it was highlighted that leveraging on technology, mobilizing private capital for infrastructure and green financing, and improving human capital are some of the steps toward achieving resilient, inclusive and sustainable economic growth post COVID-19.

In the discussions on the ASEAN+3 financial cooperation, the ministers and governors welcomed the ongoing collaboration, including through the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), AMRO, Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI) and Strategic Directions of the ASEAN+3 Finance Process.

Related to these initiatives, they reaffirmed commitment in further strengthening the CMIM as an effective and reliable regional self-help mechanism, and improving the ABMI to facilitate cross-border transactions and enhance collaboration among regional initiatives.

The ministers and governors also welcomed the establishment of four working groups on "Infrastructure Financing", "Macro structural Instruments", "Strengthening Financial Resilience against Natural Disasters" and "Enhancing Policy Coordination for Technological Advancement" under the Strategic Directions of the ASEAN+3 Finance Process.

"We acknowledge that the ASEAN+3 regional cooperation is becoming more important to support the regional economies overcoming COVID-19 and preparing for the post pandemic era," the ministers and governors said in a joint statement.

"In this respect, we agreed to continue working together to enhance regional financial cooperation, including through the CMIM, AMRO, ABMI and Strategic Directions of the ASEAN+3 Finance Process," they stated.

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