Aid and development
The changing face of Japan-ASEAN aid
Japan’s foreign aid toolkit has been expanding since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December 2012, as he seeks to shore up Japan’s influence in South-east Asia in the face of muscle-flexing by China. Japan announced on August 12 that it would give two new large ...
EU asks gov’t to cancel Mondulkiri border crossing plan
The EU has called on the government to kill plans for a controversial border checkpoint in the Mondulkiri Protected Forest that has drawn the ire of conservationists since it was first mooted two years ago. At a meeting with Interior Minister Sar Kheng on August 9, ...
ADB sells $1.3 billion in global green bonds to spur climate financing
The Asian Development Bank has raised $1.3 billion to help finance climate change mitigation and adaptation projects with the issue of dual-tranche 3-year and 10-year green bonds, following its inaugural green bond issue in 2015. Last year, ADB announced that it will double its annual climate ...
World Bank staff point to 'leadership crisis' at global lender
Staff at the World Bank delivered a broadside against its sitting president this week, saying the global lender faced a “crisis of leadership” and risked irrelevance on the world stage. The rebuke, made in an open letter from the Bank’s staff association, came as informal talks ...
World Bank loan will not be used for govt salary increases, says president’s office spokesperson
Government employees’ salaries will not increase despite plans to take out a loan worth US$100 million from the World Bank, aimed at covering a state deficit by separating salaries from the budget, according to government officials. Myanmar’s President Htin Kyaw sent a message on August 5 ...
More aid earmarked for Myanmar
Australia has pledged an extra $12 million in humanitarian assistance to Myanmar to help address the legacy of civil war and natural disasters. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop made the announcement after meeting with her counterpart and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.Keep reading ...
Cambodia, Vietnam to build market on border
The Vietnamese government on 27 July agreed in principle to provide a grant of $2 million to Cambodia to build a model market aimed at boosting cross-border trade between the two countries, officials at Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce said. The market will be constructed on 1.5 ...
Laos benefits from regional cooperation
Laos is benefiting from regional projects supported by the Republic of Korea and India through Mekong-ROK and Mekong-Ganga cooperation. The Sixth Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting hosted by Laos in Vientiane on Sunday welcomed the endorsement of seven projects under the Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund, to which the ...
Myanmar needs to scale up transport investment: ADB
The Myanmar needs to invest US$45 billion to $60 billion in transport projects over the next 15 years, to improve connectivity with neighbours and ensure equitable distribution of economic growth, Asian Development Bank officials have said. “Every year, Myanmar will need about $4 billion. This ...
China denies political conditions on aid to Cambodia
China said on 22 July its financial assistance to Cambodia is in no way dependent on that country’s support on diplomatic and political issues, such as Beijing’s dispute with other Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea. A Foreign Ministry statement faxed to The Associated Press ...
