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ASEAN to sign COVID-19 recovery framework, RCEP
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The Trade Ministry’s director general in charge of international trade negotiations, Iman Pambagyo, addresses Chilean delegations in negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Jakarta on Aug. 22. Iman has also led negotiations for the landmark Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement for nearly a decade. ASEAN's 10 members and five dialogue partners are expected to officially sign the trade deal next week. (Courtesy of Trade Ministry/File)
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SEAN states are expected to sign a landmark multilateral trade deal together with their regional partners at the upcoming ASEAN Summit next week, where their leaders are to also launch various COVID-19-related initiatives, including a comprehensive recovery framework and regional travel corridor arrangement, officials have said.
Preparations for the upcoming summit were underway as ASEAN chair Vietnam looked to host the event again via video conference from Nov. 12 to 13 amid the pandemic, said Vu Ho, director for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s ASEAN department.
Having served most of its time leading the regional bloc through online meetings this year, the official said that the pandemic had greatly affected how ASEAN’s thousands of annual meetings were conducted.
“For the last year, we [have been] trying our best collectively on all fronts; on the one hand, to push forward ASEAN community-building forward, while on the other, to fight COVID-19,” he said during a webinar hosted by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) on Thursday.
Despite the hurdles, Vu Ho said member states agreed to launch initiatives such as the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund, proposed by Vietnam and Thailand, with contributions reaching US$10 million.
Other efforts to be announced included a medical supplies reserve for the region, standard procedures for responding to future disease outbreaks and a comprehensive ASEAN recovery framework together with its implementation plan.
ASEAN also agreed to set up a center for public health emergencies and emerging diseases, with funding from the Japanese government amounting to $50 million.
