Asean pushes forward with post-pandemic recovery

Asean officials have agreed to set up a team in the Asean Secretariat to monitor implementation of the plan for Asean comprehensive recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Officials reached an agreement on the move at the 6th Meeting of the Asean Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies held via video link last week.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Thongphanh Savanphet, who heads Lao Senior Officials in Asean, led the Lao delegation attending the meeting.
The meeting was attended by senior Asean officials from the economic, socio-cultural, health, and transport sectors, Asean Permanent Committee, immigration departments, consulates, tourism authorities, and the Asean Secretariat.
Participants said they highly valued the work carried out by Asean in response to the pandemic in line with the direction set by the 37th Asean Summit in November and the Asean Foreign Ministers Retreat last month.
During last week’s meeting, officials agreed to allocate US$10.5 million from the Covid-19 Asean Response Fund to finance the response to the pandemic and buy Covid-19 vaccines for distribution among the people of Asean countries.
US$1 million will be allocated for each Asean country and US$500,000 will be allocated for the Asean Secretariat.
The meeting also agreed to set up a taskforce to draft the Asean Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework and to further discuss the role of the taskforce.
The meeting encouraged acceleration of the establishment of the Asean Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies for Public Health Emergencies. Officials agreed in principle to the establishment of a similar reserve under the Asean Plus Three framework.
The meeting discussed the selection of the host country for the Asean Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases, which will be further debated.
The results of the talks during the 6th Meeting of the Asean Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies will be submitted to the 29th Asean Coordinating Council Meeting, which will take place in August.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update February 22, 2021)