ASEAN News

The Asean region is expected to do more trade with China amid the coronavirus pandemic crisis, Deputy secretary-general of Asean Kung Phoak said in an interview. According to the senior official, the proximity with China has made the region a strong trading partners, even in the Covid-19 health crisis period. He also pointed out that even before the pandemic started, …

Indonesia reiterated its strong stance on Israel’s planned annexation of the West Bank in early July. In recent months, the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi has conveyed the principle of Indonesia’s position, including several activities undertaken by the Foreign Minister to draw international attention to this issue and to avoid escalating problems over the annexation plan. The plan …

The coronavirus pandemic has created a serious crisis to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2020. Vietnam, being the Chairman this year has been remarkable on handling the situation while demonstrating leadership. Vietnam chose ‘Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN’ as this year’s theme. In his keynote speech on 6 January, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc enumerates five priorities …

Ingram Micro will be distributing the Red Hat Certified Cloud and Service Provider (CCSP) program across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand. The IBM-owned vendor has teamed up with Ingram Micro to qualify, recruit and on-board partners as an accredited cloud and service providers. According to Ingram Micro vice president and chief country executive of ASEAN and Hong Kong Francis Choo, the …

10 years ago in Hanoi, Vietnam, The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has adopted the “Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2010”. The aim of this program is to provide a strategic document to guide actions to improve connectivity in the region. It envisioned the regional bloc as a single, integrated entity with physical, institutional and people-to-people interconnectivity. However, plans …

Growth in the Asean bloc is expected to bounce back to an average of 8% in 2021 through the Chinese import demand and global trade, a Oxford Economics and commissioned by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) report suggested on Monday. Asean has into recession in the first part of 2020 before recording a 1.9 per …

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made an unusual appearance at today’s PKR headquarters to meet with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and other Pakatan Harapan leaders in the midst of continuing rumors of a possible governmental change. PH leaders’ aides exchanged photos, among others, of Dr Mahathir, Anwar, DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng, Amanah President Mohamad Sabu, and Warisan President Datuk Seri …

Global demand for essentials items such as medicine and food has kept the Southeast Asian trade afloats as the region fight the novel coronavirus pandemic and its effects on slowing down the economies around the world. Singapore’s exports, driven by pharmaceuticals, surged to 170%. Japan’s also grew record numbers. Food exports rose 66% overall, increasing almost 10-fold. Exports to the …

Trade barriers including tariff and non-tariff restrictions will be limited to support the economies of ASEAN members amid the coronavirus pandemic, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said in a statement. Vietnam, who is also the chair for this year’s Asean summit, hosted an online meeting with economic ministers in Southeast Asia and China, Japan and South …

The Asean-Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) and Asean Economic Ministers (AEMs) met in a special session this week to discuss the Outline for Asean Action (OAA that emphasised both the immediate term challenges and the economic recovery process. Asean-BAC has renewed its call for the establishment of a Special Commission so that the Asean nation can be safer and would allow …