VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

ASEAN nations agreed to utilize the economic recovery momentum to push for financial stability and integration during the 8th Joint Meeting of the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (AFMGM).

In an official statement issued on Monday, Bank Indonesia's Communication Department Executive Director Erwin Haryono said that ASEAN nations emphasized the commitment to strengthen cooperation during the meeting.

This would mitigate economic risks and challenges during the post-COVID-19 period and amid climate change, digital disruptions, and geopolitical tensions.

Representatives of ASEAN nations who participated in the meeting agreed on several priority efforts to encourage financial stability and integration in ASEAN.

One of the efforts is encouraging further integration in the regional financial services sector, including by upgrading the Annex on Financial Services within the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA).

ASEAN nations also warmly welcomed the resolution of the study on ASEAN member states (AMS) entitled Financial Landscape Toward Furthering ASEAN Banking Integration in the Digital Era.

In addition, they also welcomed the Cross-Border QR Code Payment Linkages initiative and the issuance of ASEAN Taxonomy version 1.

The ASEAN central bank initiative to strengthen the sustainable finance agenda through the formation of two work streams under the Senior Level Committee Task Force (SLC-TF) also received support.

"ASEAN nations will also continue the commitment to improve financial inclusion through the strengthening of access, utilization, and quality of financial services within their region," Haryono said.

At the AFMGM meeting, the national representatives also lauded the achievement ofexclusion average level in ASEAN, which has exceeded the target.

Moreover, they welcomed the issuance of the Policy Note on Digital Financial Literacy and Measuring Progress 2021: Financial Inclusion in Selected ASEAN Countries, which supports the move to improve financial inclusion as a whole.

"The completion of the Policy Note on Capital Account Safeguard Measures Recent Experiences and its submission to the International Monetary Fund to enrich the discussion on the Integrated Policy Framework from the perspective of ASEAN member nations was also lauded," he noted.

The adaptation within the meeting was also obtained from the perspective of several international institutions and business world organizations.

The institutions comprised the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Meanwhile, the business world organizations consisted of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, EU-ASEAN Business Council, and US-ASEAN Business Council.  (Antaranews)