Asean
ASEAN Ministers encourage youth participation
Charting the path for post-2020, the Ministers further agreed to focus the region’s youth development agenda on fostering future-ready ASEAN youth through digital skills development

VIENTIANE, 19 July 2019 – ASEAN Youth Ministers gathered at the 11th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth and the Seventh ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Youth to discuss ways to enhance the role of youth in ASEAN for sustainable development and regional integration.
In his opening speech at the Opening Ceremony of the meetings, Deputy Prime Minister of Lao PDR Sonexay Siphandone highlighted,
“Young people represent the driving force of all areas of development, as well as the bridge between the present and future stages of development, between the country and the region as well as between the region and the world towards a sustainable and prosperous world.”
Deputy Prime Minister of Lao PDR Sonexay Siphandone highlighted
Taking into consideration the challenges and opportunities posed by digitalisation and Industry 4.0, the Ministers concurred that ASEAN youths must be empowered with not only technical or digital skills, but also with the necessary soft-skills for the betterment of ASEAN’s socio-economic development, peace and security.
Charting the path for post-2020, the Ministers further agreed to focus the region’s youth development agenda on fostering future-ready ASEAN youth through digital skills development and the institutionalisation of youth engagement mechanisms, including in the region’s policy discourse.
Towards this end, they welcomed the proposal to operationalise the ASEAN Volunteers project as well as the ASEAN Youth Dialogue.
Youth Ministers expressed appreciation to the Plus Three Countries – the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea – for their support to youth empowerment through various leadership, volunteering and skills training activities.
They also acknowledged the support of the ASEAN Foundation for the conduct of eMpowering Youth Across ASEAN Programme, ASEAN Data Science Explorers, and ASEAN Digital Innovation Programme and the ASEAN University Network for its ASEAN Student Leaders Forum.
Welcoming 2020 as the year of ASEAN identity, the Youth Ministers expressed support to a number of upcoming initiatives in enhancing ASEAN Awareness, Values and Identity, such as the continuation of ASEAN Youth Interfaith Camp and the advancement of ASEAN Green Initiative through youth participation. They further encouraged the commemoration of the ASEAN Youth in Climate Action and Disaster Resilience Day on every 25 November through meaningful youth activities.
Asean
The Latest on Covid-19 in Southeast Asia
Thailand has largely avoided widespread community transmission of Covid-19, but the kingdom is not faring well on the economic front, with a projected contraction of 7.1 percent this year.

As a region, Southeast Asia has fared relatively well in keeping coronavirus cases low, with the notable exceptions of the Philippines and Indonesia.
(more…)Laos
China’s debt-trap diplomacy: Laos’ credit rating downgraded to CCC
Laos’ debt challenge is deeply concerning, with some media commentators suggesting the country is falling into a debt trap as a result of Chinese infrastructure investments connected to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

On 23 September, the Fitch Ratings agency downgraded Laos’ credit rating to CCC — the second downgrade in 2020, having dropped to B- in May.
(more…)Vietnam
Foreign capital still heads to Vietnam
As many as 798 projects added a combined over 5.11 billion USD to their investment capital, down 23 percent year-on-year in project number but up 6.8 percent in value.

Hanoi (VNA) – The total amount of foreign investment poured into Vietnam this year to September 20 reached 21.2 billion USD, equivalent to 81.8 percent of the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
(more…)-
Forex7 days ago
Leverage from Forex Brokers & How Beginners Can Benefit from It
-
National4 days ago
Human trafficking cases in Thailand hit decade low due to COVID-19
-
Banking6 days ago
Can Fintech drive a strong post-COVID-19 recovery in Asia?
-
Economics4 days ago
Thai economy to grow 4% in 2021 following 6.5% decline in 2020