JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors reiterated their joint commitment to maintaining financial stability and advancing financial integration, against an uncertain economic outlook that could impact economic growth momentum in the ASEAN region. That was the key takeaway of the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (AFMGM) hosted collaboratively by the Ministry of Finance and Bank Indonesia on 31st March 2023 in Nusa Dua, Bali. 13 high-level meetings were held with Central Bank Governors and Finance Ministers as well as Deputies.
“We believe ASEAN must aim to be a region with robust, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth. Economic growth has and will always be the story of ASEAN. To ensure that this will be continuous, we must strengthen ASEAN’s capacity to respond to the previous challenges, but most importantly the current and new challenges that we are all seeing today, and the expected challenges in the next twenty years. ASEAN remains a bright spot in the global economy where the region offers more promising prospects compared to a bleaker global outlook.” conveyed Minister of Finance of Republic Indonesia, Sri Mulyani Indrawati. ASEAN collectively has a high economic growth and macroeconomic stability. The ASEAN-5 economies together grew by 5.3% last year, and collectively forecasted to grow by 4.6% this year and increase to 5.6% in 2024.
The meeting was attended by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from nine ASEAN countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and representatives from six international organisations (the Asian Development Bank, ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, International Monetary Fund, Financial Stability Board, Bank for International Settlement, World Bank).
At the AFMGM, members welcomed the theme of Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, ‘ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”, which has three strategic thrusts: (i) recovery and rebuilding, (ii) the digital economy, and (iii) sustainability. ASEAN members underlined the importance of strong collaboration and cooperation to contain the lingering risks that may pose a threat to the regional economy, welcoming Indonesia’s 2023 Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) including pandemic preparedness, infrastructure finance, international taxation, customs cooperation, digital financial inclusion for MSMEs and sustainable finance.
The outcomes of the 1st AFMGM discussion will be reported to the 42nd ASEAN Summit in May 2023 in Labuan Bajo. A 2nd AFMGM also will be held in August 2023, in Jakarta.