ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meetings with China, Korea, Switzerland and Plus Three Economic Ministers and Mekong-Japan Economic Ministers’ Meeting held

Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations U Aung Naing Oo participated in the 20th AEM-MOFCOM Consultations, 18th AEM-ROK Consultations, 13th Mekong-Japan Economic Ministers’ Meeting, AEM Troika Open-ended Dialogue with Switzerland Trade Minister and 24th AEM-Plus Three Consultations which were held via video conferencing started at 7:00 yesterday am from the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, Nay Pyi Taw.
The Meetings were participated by Economic Ministers from ASEAN Member States, China, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and their representatives, ASEAN Secretary-General and officials from Mekong-Japan Secretariat.
The 20th AEM-MOFCOM Consultations were held at 7:00 am and co-chaired by Dato Dr Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II of Brunei Darussalam and Mr Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. At the Consultations, the Ministers discussed and exchanged views on regional cooperation for mitigating the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) implementation, trade and economic cooperation between ASEAN and China, and preparations for the ASEAN-China Summit.
During the Consultations, the Union Minister expressed his appreciation to China for the donation of COVID-19 vaccines and medical equipment to support Myanmar’s efforts on pandemic prevention, control and treatment. In addition, he requested China for consideration of reopening Myanmar-China border trade particularly resumption of the trade at Ruili (Shwe Li) and Muse border posts for strengthening supply chain connectivity. And, he supported conducting a Joint Feasible Study to identify the possible areas for further upgrading ACFAT in consideration of long-standing trade and economic relations between ASEAN and China.
The Ministers adopted Joint Statement on further Enhancing Trade and Economic Cooperation at the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations and a Joint Media Statement for 20th AEM-MOFCOM Consultations.
The 18th AEM-ROK Consultations was subsequently held and co-chaired by Dato Dr Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II of Brunei Darussalam and Yeo Han-koo, Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea. At the Meeting, the Ministers exchanged views on their respective response to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and possible areas of cooperation, the implementation of the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement and the progress of the ASEAN-Korea economic cooperation projects.
At the Meeting, the Union Minister shared the activities of the Covid-19 responses, control and vaccination programme in Myanmar and he also expressed that the government is formulating Myanmar Economic Recovery Plan (MERP) in line with UN SDGs, ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF) and GMS Covid-19 Response and Recovery Plan for addressing the impact of Covid-19 on National Economy. TheUnion Minister also underscored to deepen regional economic integration by promoting the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment and uphold the multilateral trading system in line with the WTO, to pursue inclusiveness to foster a sound environment to support sustainable economic and social development, and to grasp opportunities from digital and technological innovation.
At the Meeting, the Ministers adopted the Joint Media Statement of the 18th AEM-ROK Consultations.
The 13th Mekong-Japan Economic Ministers’ Meeting was held in the afternoon and co-chaired by Dr Khampheng Saysompheng, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Lao PDR and Hiroshi KAJIYAMA, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. At the Meeting, the Ministers highlighted the outcomes of the 12th Mekong-Japan Economic Ministers Meeting and the 12th Mekong-Japan Summit which were held in 2020. The Ministers also exchanged views on the progress of implementation and new projects of the Work Programme under Mekong Industrial Development Vision 2.0 (MIDV 2.0).
At the Meeting, the Union Minister underscored the crucial role of MIDV 2.0 for balancing the development of the Mekong region and more resilient economy in the post-Covid-19 period and welcomed the progress of current projects under MIDV 2.0. In addition, Union Minister expressed thanks to the Japanese government and related agencies for supporting the economic development of Mekong Region. The Union Minister also welcomed the projects proposed by Japan in the areas of digital innovation and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and proposed to reconsider to support for the projects being implemented under East-West Economic Corridor Improvement in Myanmar and proposed to conduct the capacity building programme on Digital-based Investment Promotion Strategies for Mekong countries.
And then, the AEM-Swiss Troika Open-ended Dialogue with Switzerland Trade Minister was held and co-chaired by Dato Dr Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II of Brunei Darussalam and Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland. At the dialogue, the Ministers discussed the Joint Declaration of Cooperation between ASEAN and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and exchanged views on concrete economic cooperation activities under the Practical Cooperation Areas 2022-2026 between ASEAN and Switzerland and the Joint Media Statement.
In the evening, the 24th ASEAN Plus Three Economic Ministers’ Meeting was also held. The Meeting was co-chaired by Dato Dr Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II of Brunei Darussalam, Wentao WANG, Minister of Commerce of China, Hiroshi KAJIYAMA, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and Dr Yoonjong Chun, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy of Korea. At the Meeting, the Ministers exchanged views on global and regional developments and the progress of implementation of the ASEAN Plus Three Plan of Action (APT POA) on Mitigating the Economic Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministers endorsed the ASEAN Plus Three Economic Cooperation Work Programme 2021-2022 and the Joint Media Statement of the 24th ASEAN Plus Three Economic Ministers’ Meeting.
Together with the Union Minister, Deputy Minister and Senior Officials from the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations also attended the Meetings.—MNA