PH calls for new areas of cooperation in ASEAN
By Chino S. Leyco
Southeast Asian countries are urged to explore new avenues for cooperation to enable the region to collectively contain the economic fallout from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Collective and urgent action is indispensable, said Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, as this geopolitical development will certainly magnify the dislocations caused by the two-year global battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. The Philippine finance chief made his call during the series of meetings of the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors last Friday, April 8.
Dominguez told his fellow finance ministers and the central bank governors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that the crisis in Eastern Europe has opened a new horizon of risks and aggravated supply chain problems.
Regional cooperation should focus on sustaining the cross-border movement of people, preserving the flow of goods and services to stimulate the regional market, and maintaining ASEAN’s participation in global value chains, Dominguez said.
Dominguez also said ASEAN must pursue sustainable finance initiatives at the regional level to solidify this economic bloc’s transition towards a sustainable post-pandemic recovery.
To study new areas of regional cooperation, Dominguez proposed that the finance ministers and central bank governors convene a small group of experts to continuously monitor the situation and assess possible impacts on the individual ASEAN economies.
“Together with our development partners, the ASEAN countries must collaborate closely with each other to help weather the adversity,” Dominguez said during the meeting of the finance ministers and central bank governors with international financial institutions.
“Regional cooperation will be indispensable in rapidly reviving our economies and effectively managing the risks of the Ukraine crisis to the region's strong recovery,” he said.
Hosted by Cambodia, the 8th ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (AFMGM) long with its related meetings were held via videoconferencing this year.
During the meeting, Dominguez pointed out that the region faces collateral damage from the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
He said “it will be prudent for us to begin a process of exploring new areas of regional cooperation to fend off the adverse fallout from this conflict.”
“Rest assured, the Philippines is committed to supporting the ASEAN’s collective efforts to rapidly revive our economies from the pandemic and weather the external risks triggered by the Ukraine conflict,” he said.
Dominguez said the current conflict will most likely lead to elevated inflation levels across all countries, and if tensions become prolonged, will result in serious food supply problems because Ukraine is a significant producer of wheat, vegetable oil and corn.
Shortages in oil and gas supplies also remain an open possibility, Dominguez said. “A Pandora’s Box seems ready to open,” he added.
“The conflict in Ukraine will certainly magnify the dislocations caused by the world’s two-year battle with the Covid-19 pandemic. It opens a new horizon of risks and aggravates supply chain problems,” Dominguez said.