ASEAN discusses COVID-19 recovery with global experts

JAKARTA, 30 July 2020 – The ASEAN Secretariat gathered a panel of global experts to share their views on the impact of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and discussed policy insights towards a post-pandemic recovery.

The High-Level Dialogue on ASEAN Post-Pandemic Recovery was opened by Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi and moderated by Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community Aladdin Rillo.

The dialogue’s panelists consisted of World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships Mari Pangestu; Asian Development Bank’s Vice President for East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Ahmed Saeed; United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Executive Secretary Armida Alisjahbana; and the World Economic Forum’s Head of Regional Agenda for Asia Pacific Joo-Ok Lee.

The composition of the panel reflected the ASEAN spirit of multilateral cooperation and partnership in responding to the global crisis. The speakers highlighted the policy priorities and strategies to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. They also recommended to take advantage of the pandemic period to change the way things are done towards greater inclusivity, sustainability, and resilience.

Furthermore, the speakers discussed digitalisation and its indispensable role in the COVID-19 response, recovery efforts and beyond, as well as highlighting the importance of stakeholder engagement and partnerships in the community-wide recovery.

Perspectives from policymakers, the business sector, and research community were provided by three commentators. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam Nguyen Quoc Dzung,participated in his capacity as Chair of the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies. He was joined by Chairperson of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council 2020 Doan Duy Khuong and Chief Economist of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia Fukunari Kimura

Various partners and stakeholders, as well as the general public participated in the High-Level Dialogue and contributed their insights as ASEAN progresses with the development of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework.

Source: ASEAN Secretariat