Families in all ASEAN nations have been hit hard by rising food pricesASEAN leaders prepare to battle inflation
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Source: Thanh Nien News and AFP
Finance ministers from 10 Asian countries Friday vowed to be vigilant in the fight against inflation, as soaring food and fuel prices threatens to spark public unrest in some nations.
The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) ministers, who met in Da Nang City, were searching for ways to cope with the global economic slowdown, as well as escalating prices, which has hit households across the region hard.
ASEAN economies had been feeling the effects of the economic slowdown in the United States as well as rising international food and oil prices, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said at the opening session.
“These adverse externalities have resulted in increasing inflationary pressure, hurting the region’s growth rate - and Vietnam is no exception,” Hung said.
“However, with strong determination and dynamic adjustment of each country, ASEAN is set to overcome these challenges to achieve sustainable economic growth in the medium and long-term future.”
In a statement to close the annual meeting, finance ministers said they had discussed the potential for a much longer economic slowdown than expected.
“We remain vigilant against these risks and resolved to maintain sound fiscal and monetary policies, while
continuing to implement policies that will sustain domestic demand as an important anchor of growth,” they said.
Many experts believe the region will be able to weather the turmoil better than in times past, in particular during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.
World Bank managing director Juan Jose Daboub told AFP there was cause for “cautious optimism” in the region despite the possibility that slowing demand in the US will undercut a major export market for the region.
The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank this week both reduced their growth forecast for the region, excluding Japan.
The World Bank said there could be an aggregate income loss of 1 percent of gross domestic product due to price increases.
In Da Nang Friday, finance ministers discussed the progress in the implementation of the Roadmap for Monetary and Financial Integration of ASEAN, the Asian Bond Markets Initiative and the Chiang Mai Initiative, as well as the realization of the ASEAN Economic Community.
“Since the adoption of the Roadmap for Monetary and Financial Integration of ASEAN in 2003, we have strengthened regional financial resilience and enhanced our capacity to manage risks,” Vietnam’s Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh said.
“We agreed that greater financial cooperation would enhance competitiveness and equity in ASEAN,” he said.
Delegates at the meeting also talked about the rising global commodities and energy prices.
They noted the importance to strengthen the regional initiatives on food security and energy security.
ASEAN ministers committed to liberalize key financial services sectors and implement the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint by 2015.
Responding to media’s question about whether ASEAN needs to set up a currency for the AEC, the Malaysian Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakop said the main target was to create an economic community for all ASEAN members, not to focus on setting up a general currency.
“We made some progress on the Chiang Mai Initiative, which aims to create a fund to prevent economic crises from denting ASEAN and plus-three countries, including China, Korea and Japan,” Vu Van Ninh said.
“The detailed plans of the initiative will be discussed at the meeting of ASEAN leaders in Madrid in May.”
ASEAN’s members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
ASEAN+3 also includes Japan, South Korea and China.
The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) ministers, who met in Da Nang City, were searching for ways to cope with the global economic slowdown, as well as escalating prices, which has hit households across the region hard.
ASEAN economies had been feeling the effects of the economic slowdown in the United States as well as rising international food and oil prices, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said at the opening session.
“These adverse externalities have resulted in increasing inflationary pressure, hurting the region’s growth rate - and Vietnam is no exception,” Hung said.
“However, with strong determination and dynamic adjustment of each country, ASEAN is set to overcome these challenges to achieve sustainable economic growth in the medium and long-term future.”
In a statement to close the annual meeting, finance ministers said they had discussed the potential for a much longer economic slowdown than expected.
“We remain vigilant against these risks and resolved to maintain sound fiscal and monetary policies, while
continuing to implement policies that will sustain domestic demand as an important anchor of growth,” they said.
Many experts believe the region will be able to weather the turmoil better than in times past, in particular during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.
World Bank managing director Juan Jose Daboub told AFP there was cause for “cautious optimism” in the region despite the possibility that slowing demand in the US will undercut a major export market for the region.
The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank this week both reduced their growth forecast for the region, excluding Japan.
The World Bank said there could be an aggregate income loss of 1 percent of gross domestic product due to price increases.
In Da Nang Friday, finance ministers discussed the progress in the implementation of the Roadmap for Monetary and Financial Integration of ASEAN, the Asian Bond Markets Initiative and the Chiang Mai Initiative, as well as the realization of the ASEAN Economic Community.
“Since the adoption of the Roadmap for Monetary and Financial Integration of ASEAN in 2003, we have strengthened regional financial resilience and enhanced our capacity to manage risks,” Vietnam’s Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh said.
“We agreed that greater financial cooperation would enhance competitiveness and equity in ASEAN,” he said.
Delegates at the meeting also talked about the rising global commodities and energy prices.
They noted the importance to strengthen the regional initiatives on food security and energy security.
ASEAN ministers committed to liberalize key financial services sectors and implement the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint by 2015.
Responding to media’s question about whether ASEAN needs to set up a currency for the AEC, the Malaysian Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakop said the main target was to create an economic community for all ASEAN members, not to focus on setting up a general currency.
“We made some progress on the Chiang Mai Initiative, which aims to create a fund to prevent economic crises from denting ASEAN and plus-three countries, including China, Korea and Japan,” Vu Van Ninh said.
“The detailed plans of the initiative will be discussed at the meeting of ASEAN leaders in Madrid in May.”
ASEAN’s members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
ASEAN+3 also includes Japan, South Korea and China.
1 comment:
Oh good, I know our brothers Thai and VN will not let us down.
Don't worry Khmer people! We know what we are doing.
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