Lee Ju-yeol Attends ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers' Meeting... Strengthening Regional Financial Cooperation

Ijuyeol, Governor of the Bank of Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] On the 3rd, Lee Ju-yeol, Governor of the Bank of Korea, attended the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) +3 countries (Korea, China, Japan) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting to discuss policy responses to COVID-19 risks and agreed to strengthen regional financial cooperation.

The Bank of Korea announced the results of the 24th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting on the same day, stating that Governor Lee exchanged opinions on policy responses to risks caused by COVID-19 and economic outlook.

ASEAN+3 consists of the 10 ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia) and Korea, China, and Japan. The 'Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting,' which discusses cooperation in the monetary and financial sectors, has been held once a year since 1999.

The participating countries in the meeting anticipated that vaccine distribution would be a crucial factor in economic recovery and agreed to continue policy efforts to maintain inclusive and sustainable growth and financial stability.

Furthermore, they reviewed the progress of regional financial cooperation and agreed to strengthen financial cooperation through the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) and the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).

As a follow-up to the revised CMIM agreement announced on March 31, they stated the need to establish new reference interest rates, interest rate structures, and regional currency support procedures. Regarding AMRO, they highly evaluated the expansion of regional surveillance functions and the enhancement of risk and economic analysis capabilities.

The next ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2022, with China and Cambodia serving as co-chair countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.