The meeting organized by Bank of Indonesia (BI) and the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia (Kemenkeu RI) was a follow-up of the first meeting of Menkeu and ASEAN Central Bank Governors (1ST AFMGM).
Several important and relevant matters regarding the ASEAN region came to light during the meeting, such as the digital economy; Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) funding; payment system and its interconnectivity; sustainable banking; ASEAN sustainable financial taxonomy; issues on food resilience; and also health funding.
The meeting was directly led by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and BI Governor Perry Warjiyo and also in attendance were ASEAN countries' finance ministers and ASEAN Central Bank Governors along with their representatives.
Warjiyo highlighted the important role of ASEAN in the global economy. ASEAN is currently conducting digital transformation to continue to encourage economic development that aligns with the digitalization pillar in Indonesia's ASEAN chairmanship.
Furthermore, Warjiyo said that the ASEAN initiative for payment system connectivity was a follow-up action to the mutual agreement with five central banks in the ASEAN region within the framework of Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC).
Meanwhile, Menkeu Sri Mulyani emphasized that in addition to digital transformation, economic development should be inclusive and sustainable. In order to establish a low-carbon economy, the ASEAN has also launched ASEAN Taxonomy as the second version of sustainable finance.
Taxonomy is the first in the world that accommodates transition of energy based on activity categories that meet funding requirements.
The minister further noted that the strengthening of collaboration between the health and finance sectors by all parties in ASEAN, both governmental and private sector, was needed in order to prepare to deal with a potential health crisis in future.
The ASEAN Finance Ministries and Central Banks Governors also welcomed the cooperation established between ASEAN countries and business actors in the region, especially with regard to efforts to encourage trade and investment promotion as well as strengthen the ASEAN economic structure, so that it can be the global epicentrum of growth.
In addition to ministries and central bank governors, the meeting was attended by several global business actors' associations: US-ASEAN Business Council, EU-ASEAN Business Council, and ASEAN Business Advisory Council.
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Translator: Agatha O, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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