ASEAN, China, Japan and SoKor reaffirms open markets amid Covid-19 epidemic

Last updated on May 7th, 2021 at 05:57 am

Member states of the of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations together with China, Japan and South Korea on Thursday vows to strengthen and maintain open markets among nation amid the Covid-19 pandemic in hopes to fight off the impact created by the health crisis.

The economic ministers of each nations met on an online video conference chaired by Vietnam Minister of Industry and Trade Trade Tran Tuan Anh and talks about ways to mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

The ministers, in a joint statement, acknowledged the urgent need to intensify the effort of addresing the effects on the health crisis to the people including economic disruptions that impacted the regional supply chains, the financial market and workforce.

ASEAN is also looking for ways to facilitate regional trade amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While all Asian countries collectively agrees to the importance of keeping the market open, efforts to strengthen and sustain the regional supply chains are necessary to maintain steady flow of goods and services.

They also encouraged each countries to enhance close coordination among the custom agencies, promoting trade especially at land borders. The ministers also agreed to pursue initiatives to strengthen joint efforts on post–pandemic recovery in the region and restore economic growth through enhanced regional trade and economic cooperation between nations.