ASEAN 2020: Meeting held promoting regional sustainable finance

In his opening remarks, Minister of Finance of Vietnam Dinh Tien Dung emphasised that the annual dialogue between ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors and representatives of member groups of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, the EU-ASEAN Business Council, and the US-ASEAN Business Council has created a forum for managers and policy makers to openly exchange views on issues of concern in the region and the world.

He highlighted the necessity of implementing solutions to mobilise and use public finance effectively and mobilising private resources and donor development assistance for sustainable development goals.

For sustainable and healthy development in the financial sector, he said, Vietnam is currently stepping up the restructuring of budget spending in the health sector, promoting the mobilisation of private capital sources for medical development, and encouraging businesses to develop insurance products for social security purposes.

He said the ministry has focused on promoting the application of information technology (IT) in a range of fields, especially in tax administration and customs, and this is helping to improve the business environment and significantly cut business costs.

ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors highlighted the important role of promoting regional sustainable finance in developing infrastructure and health systems in the context of ASEAN facing a lack of investment capital for infrastructure development.

They emphasised the need to further promote cooperation in mobilising financial resources for developing infrastructure and health systems in order to resolve growth bottlenecks and narrow the development gap in each country and within the ASEAN region.

Representatives from business communities made recommendations on funding for infrastructure development, especially long-term funding, sustainable finance, and sustainable health assistance.

Participants also spent time discussing issues related to digital transformation in financial services, comprehensive financial solutions, and digital trade links in the region.

They stressed the urgent need for coordination and dialogue between policy makers and business communities, to build appropriate policies, and create a favourable investment and business environment in every economy and in the region, towards gradually overcoming the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and recovering production activities, contributing to the region’s post-pandemic economic recovery and sustainable economic development.

ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors will continue to maintain the annual dialogue channel with business communities in the time to come.