Sustainable Development Goals
Trump-Kim summit in Hà Nội: what to expect?
Hà Nội has been chosen to host the political event of the year. US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the end of February. So what can we expect from the meeting? Keep reading ...
New Year Opens With Fighting, Attack on Top Official in Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Myanmar government troops opened 2019 with exchanges of gunfire with an ethnic armed organization in Rakhine state’s Buthidaung township, while police accused the same rebel group of attacking a convoy transporting the regional chief. The Myanmar Army engaged in clashes with the Arakan Army (AA) all ...
ASEAN: Working toward resilience and sustainability
In the last regular meeting of the ASEAN Committee in Washington (ACW) with the Philippines as chair, I hosted a forum on environmental policy and public-private cooperation that would, hopefully, provide a deeper understanding of the priorities and initiatives toward sustainable and resilient development. Keep reading ...
(Re)connecting the Dots: To See Progress, We Must Place People and Forests at the Center of the Sustainable Development Paradigm
Commentary on the Sustainable Development Goals by David Ganz highlighting the need and challenges for developing a sustainable development paradigm shift. Read ...
Workers in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia call for better pay, benefits
Hundreds of workers took to the streets in Myanmar on Tuesday to call for a living wage, while in Laos marchers asked for social welfare benefits and better protection for citizens working abroad, sources said. Meanwhile, in Cambodia, workers gathered but were forbidden to ...
Inequality, Migration, & Industry 4.0 Challenge GMS Prosperity
The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries have made stunning progress over the past quarter century. Once plagued by poverty, they are now economic success stories. The GMS Economic Cooperation Program (GECP) has contributed significantly to this transformation. Since it was established in 1992 as a ...
AEC News Reporter
Gender Inequality Could Be Costing Asia Pacific $4.5 Trillion
It might be the most dynamic region in the world but the Asia Pacific isn’t meeting its economic potential, and some of that has to do with gender equality, according to the McKinsey Global Institute. Targeted policies to achieve more women’s equality in Asia-Pacific economies ...
Michelle Jamrisko
Mekong River dams ‘will harm food security’
Hydropower development on the Mekong River will aggravate food insecurity and poverty in the region and reverse the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a study says. Environmental and social specialists of Mekong River Commission (MRC) warned during the third MRC International Conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia, that ...
Pratch Rujivanarom
Six decades of water cooperation puts Mekong basin on track to achieve SDGs
In September 1957, representatives from the four countries in the lower Mekong basin met in Bangkok to take the first steps towards cooperative development and management of their shared water resources. The agreement they signed established the Mekong Committee, the predecessor of the Mekong River ...
Pham Tuan Phan
Women key to Mekong’s future and prosperity
Next week, the leaders of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam will gather for the third Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in Siem Reap. A key aim is to enhance joint efforts and partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Keep reading ...
Lilian Mercado
