MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2021) The member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and several other nations worldwide agreed on Wednesday that they should boost efforts in an attempt to accelerate the recovery of their economies, battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The economic union includes such states as Cambodia, Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines. Economy ministers of ASEAN nations and Russia, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and the United States held a virtual meeting Wednesday within the framework of the East Asia Summit (EAS), including all the aforementioned countries.
"The Meeting affirmed that a key priority for the EAS countries is to recover and build greater economic resilience in the region by facilitating trade, investment, and secure and resilient supply chains; maintaining supportive fiscal policy actions to encourage economic growth; and ensuring that strong macroeconomic fundamentals and a predictable business environment are in place to retain sustainable growth in the region," the joint statement read.
The ministers acknowledged the prevalence of digital practices that have intensified during the pandemic, and took note of "the importance of an enabling, inclusive and nondiscriminatory digital economy that fosters the application of new technologies," the statement went on.
The officials underscored the importance of environmental policies and approaches regarding the economic recovery, including the UN-backed 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris accord, which must be promoted globally.
The meeting touched upon the equal distribution of coronavirus vaccines and essential goods across the world, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in this field, according to the statement.
