James Kon
Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah voiced Brunei Darussalam’s support to foster ASEAN’s resilience, and looked forward to concrete initiatives and projects to realise the proposed food security as well as finance and health sector collaborations at the 9th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM) and Related Meetings in Bali, Indonesia from March 29 to 31.
The minister also shared the Sultanate’s efforts to prepare for future pandemics including the establishment of the Epidemic Intelligence and Response Unit Surveillance Centre, and the hosting of the ASEAN Digital Public Health Conference during the past two years.
He expressed support for Indonesia’s chairmanship and priorities which will accelerate recovery and contribute to ASEAN’s inclusive and sustainable growth and recognised that progress, especially in newer growth areas such as green and digital economy, is also crucial, and welcomed the ongoing efforts, among others, to enhance regional digital payment linkages and boost sustainable finance.
The series of ministerial meetings started with dialogues between finance ministers, central bank governors, with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, EU-ASEAN Business Council and US-ASEAN Business Council to discuss opportunities for public and private sector collaboration to sustain ASEAN’s digital transformation, and sustainable recovery in areas such as climate finance, digital economy and green technologies.
According to the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE), the AFMGM commenced with a session with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Financial Stability Board, Bank for International Settlements, Asian Development Bank and the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, to exchange views on the regional and global economic outlooks, as well as the risks and development agendas. During its plenary session, the meeting discussed Indonesia’s 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship priorities under the theme ‘ASEAN Matters:
Epicentrum of Growth’, including the proposals to strengthen regional collaboration on food security as well as cross-sectoral engagements between finance and health sectors and progress in ASEAN finance cooperation.
Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) Managing Director Hajah Rokiah binti Haji Badar also attended the meeting.
Permanent Secretary (Fiscal II) at the MoFE Suraya binti Haji Jaidin, BDCB Deputy Managing Director (Monetary Operations/Development and International) Hajah Noorrafidah binti Sulaiman, officials from the Division of International Affairs of the MoFE and BDCB were also present.
