Think Positive, Think Asean Tribune
JAKARTA – Indonesia palm oil exports fell
12.4% in July compared to a year ago, data from the country’s
palm oil association showed on Thursday.
Indonesia’s palm oil exports stood at 2.74 million tonnes in
July, the data showed. It jumped 35.3% compared to June, on
increased demand from the EU, India, Pakistan and China.
The top producer’s crude palm oil output in July stood at
4.1 million tonnes, up 5.4% from a year ago but down by 9.5%
compared to June.
Source: ASEAN Exchanges
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (9 September 2021) — Leaders from the six member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) today endorsed a new 10-year strategy to promote sustainable, inclusive development and strengthen economic integration to combat threats such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, climate change, trade barriers, and rapid urbanization.
The GMS Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030), lays out the GMS program’s mission for the first time, with a focus on regional cooperation and sustainable development. The strategy, which was released at the 7th GMS Leaders’ Summit hosted by the Government of Cambodia, also calls for member countries to work together on a multi-sector, multi-thematic response to the pandemic based on a new GMS COVID-19 response and recovery plan.
“ADB’s near-term priority is to help economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa. “In parallel, our assistance will pave the way for inclusive, sustainable, and resilient development in the long term, in line with GMS-2030. ADB will continue to play a central role in coordinating the GMS Program and leverage ADB’s financing and knowledge support by collaborating with the private sector and other development partners.”
The pandemic has pushed 8 million more people in the GMS countries into poverty, and more than 340,000 migrant workers have been forced to return home. The GMS 2030 strategy calls for the subregion to overcome the challenges it faces by deepening regional cooperation and integration in key areas and continue the GMS program’s work on connectivity, with a project-led approach to development and long-term regional policy cooperation.
The 2021–2023 GMS COVID–19 Response and Recovery Plan aims to help countries address the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic through regional cooperation in key areas, complementing country response plans. The plan includes measures to protect the health of people, animals, crops, and food products, as well as urban environments. It also seeks to promote the safe, orderly movement of labor and support open borders, as well as inclusive, green, and resilient economic activities. An initial list of priority projects worth $3.1 billion has been identified to support the plan.
The GMS program was established in 1992 to strengthen regional cooperation by encouraging cross-border economic and trade relations. Since then, ADB has supported regional cooperation projects in key sectors such as health, transport, tourism, urban development, environment, human resources development, agriculture, and energy through 109 cross-cutting investments and 230 technical assistance projects.
ADB has mobilized $27.7 billion in financing for the GMS program, with 45% contributed by ADB, 22% by GMS governments, and 33% by development partners and the private sector. ADB provided $5.7 billion to the GMS program from 2018 to 2020.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
Source: Asian Development Bank
Jakarta, September 8th, 2021: On International Literacy Day, the U.S. Government through the USAID-ASEAN Partnership for Regional Optimization in the Political Security and Socio-cultural Communities (PROSPECT) project reaffirmed its support in ASEAN’s Senior Officials’ Meeting on Education and Development (SOMED) to develop a Training-of-Trainers (ToT) program for educators to counter disinformation and promote media literacy for regional youth.
Today, over 60 representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN-affiliated entities, ASEAN Sectoral Bodies—including from SOMED, ASEAN Senior Officials on Youth (SOMY), ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting Responsible for Information (SOMRI), among others—came together to review and provide technical feedback on the draft ToT program curriculum and modules. U.S. State Department representatives from the Bureau of Counter-terrorism, Dr. Sharri Clarke and Ms. Barbara Paoletti, set the stage with contextual perspective on the importance of education as a preventative approach to countering disinformation and violent extremism, and underscored the U.S. Government’s work and partnership on a number of initiatives globally and within the ASEAN region. Representatives from relevant teacher training centers and other civil society organizations also joined the discussion, bringing in pedagogical and practical perspectives for considerations into the draft ToT program. Stakeholders’ feedback will inform the substance of the ToT module, as well as the planned piloti and roll-out of the program anticipated to begin in early 2022. Participants also had the opportunity to hear about ongoing initiatives in the region from SOMED, SOMTC Working Group on Countering Terrorism (WG CT), Association of Southeast Asian Teacher Education Network, and the ASEAN Foundation related to youth education and countering disinformation.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Wilfredo E. Cabral, Regional Director, DepEd NCR and Officer-In-Charge, Office of the Undersecretary for Planning and Human Resources and Organizational Development, Department of Education, Philippines; Chair of the ASEAN SOMED underscored the significance and timeliness of the activity in the midst of the ‘infodemic’ emerging during the COVID crises.
“We recognize there is a lot to be done when it comes to learning how to navigate our expanding information landscape and become well informed citizens. We support ASEAN’s proactive approach in addressing this global problem…We must keep in mind that our learners are growing in an environment where digital and media literacy is an essential skill… To realize this vision, we educators should be at the forefront of pursuing information literacy by ensuring we ourselves are not perpetrators of disinformation. We will not only be able to teach our learners, but also be good examples ourselves.”
Ms. Julie Chen, the Director of USAID ASEAN Office emphasized the importance of the project in addressing the negative impacts of disinformation amongst youth, saying that as ASEAN’s future leaders, ASEAN youth should be equipped and empowered to better navigate the digital landscape as critical thinkers: “As we celebrate International Literacy Day, we are witnessing here in Southeast Asia, as in the U.S. and throughout the globe, the negative impacts of false or misleading information generated and shared online, from igniting conflict, to stoking violent extremism, to promoting false narratives about COVID-19, disinformation is rampant.”
Once completed, the USAID-supported ToT program will better equip educators across ASEAN with a comprehensive pedagogical framework through which to educate youth on media literacy and empower them to counter disinformation in their communities, both online and in the real world.
Source: U.S. Mission to ASEAN
I wish to extend my congratulations to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) on its 22nd Anniversary today. I would like to take this opportunity to convey my appreciation to SUHAKAM for its active and constructive role, as well as support for and facilitation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Government.
Since its establishment under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 (Act 597) on 9 September 1999, SUHAKAM’s continuous effort is notable in undertaking its statutory functions and mandate, especially in raising the visibility of human rights awareness and education in the country. I wish to highlight that SUHAKAM has been also instrumental in the development of Malaysia’s National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) and human rights modules for national schools.
I am happy to note that over the years, the Ministry has engaged constructively with SUHAKAM in the course of fulfilling the Government’s commitment on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism. I wish to reiterate my commitment as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, that the Ministry remains committed to strengthening its collaboration with SUHAKAM through a human-rights based approach in safeguarding the interests of our citizens and the country. This is pertinent as Malaysia aspires to be on the Human Rights Council for the term 2022–2024.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas updates the public that the applicable rediscount1 rate for the month of September 2021 on loans under the Peso Rediscount Facility (PRF) remains at 2.50 percent, regardless of maturity (i.e., 1 to 180 days). Meanwhile, rediscount rates on loans under the Exporters’ Dollar and Yen Rediscount Facility (EDYRF) are set at 2.11963 percent for United States Dollar (USD) and 1.90133 percent for Japanese Yen, regardless of maturity (i.e., 1 to 360 days).
For the period 01 January to 31 August 2021, total availments2 of banks against their rediscounting line3 remain unchanged at ₱5.52 million for loans under the PRF. These availments represent the rediscount of Production Credits that financed industrial processing (72.48 percent) and Other Credits that funded capital asset expenditures (27.52 percent). On the other hand, there was no loan availment under the EDYRF for the period 01 January to 31 August 2021.4
Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
Foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows in June 2021 rose by 60.4 percent year-on-year to reach US$833 million from US$519 million in the comparable period last year (Table 1).1,2 This development brought the FDI net inflows for the first semester of 2021 to US$4.3 billion, higher by 40.7 percent from the US$3.1 billion net inflows in January-June 2020. The higher cumulative FDI net inflows was due mainly to the 86.5 percent growth in non-residents’ net investments in debt instruments to US$2.8 billion from US$1.5 billion.3 Likewise, reinvestment of earnings rose by 7.7 percent to US$522 million from US$484 million. However, net investments in equity capital declined by 8.9 percent to US$971 million from US$1.1 billion a year ago.
FDI net inflows in June 2021 increased mainly on account of infusion by foreign direct investors to their subsidiaries/affiliates in the Philippines in the form of net investments in debt instruments, which rose year-on-year by 151.8 percent to US$630 million. Likewise, reinvestment of earnings grew by 23.4 percent to US$110 million from US$89 million.
Meanwhile, non-residents’ net investments in equity capital declined by 48.4 percent to US$93 million in June 2021 from US$180 million in the same month last year. This was due to the downturn in equity capital placements (by 38.2 percent to US$119 million from US$192 million) along with the increase in equity capital withdrawals (by 112 percent to US$26 million from US$12 million). Concerns over the spread of more transmissible Delta variant may have prompted investors to remain on the sidelines. Equity capital placements during the month originated mostly from Japan, the United States, and Singapore. These were invested largely in the 1) manufacturing; 2) real estate; and 3) financial and insurance industries.
For the first semester of 2021, net investments in equity capital declined following the drop in placements by 10.4 percent to US$1.1 billion (from US$1.3 billion). These were mostly from Singapore, Japan, and the United States. Investments were channeled mainly to the 1) manufacturing; 2) financial and insurance; and 3) electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning industries. Equity capital withdrawals also declined by 18.3 percent to US$165 million (from US$202 million).
Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)