Southeast Asian economies are gaining ground as tourism and exports recover from the shocks of the pandemic, but geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity prices still pose serious risks, regional financial leaders said Friday. Laos’ Finance Minister Santiphab Phomvihane read out a joint statement following meetings among finance ministers at a hotel in the Laotian city of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO heritage site, but he made no other remarks and took no questions. Estimates for economic growth in members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations vary but are generally near a robust 5% for 2024.
A veteran Laotian diplomat recently appointed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ’ special envoy to Myanmar arrived Wednesday on his first mission to the strife-torn nation, meeting with the head of the ruling military council and other top officials, state television MRTV reported. Diplomat Alounkeo Kittikhoun faces the tough challenge of promoting the regional group’s peace plan for Myanmar to quell the violence between the military government, which seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, and an armed pro-democracy resistance movement that is assisted by ethnic minority fighting forces. Almost 2 million people have been displaced by years of fighting in Myanmar, according to the U.N., and the 10-member ASEAN regional grouping is concerned that the destabilization could have regional consequences, including generating large numbers of refugees.
Southeast Asia's ASEAN bloc on Wednesday welcomed world leaders to Indonesia's capital for a summit likely to be dominated by worry about rivalry between the United States and China overshadowing the region. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has warned of the danger of getting dragged into other powers' disputes, will gather with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and leaders of various partner countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India. Neither U.S. President Joe Biden nor his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are attending the summit.
JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia warned on Tuesday against Southeast Asia's bloc getting dragged into big-power rivalry as leaders gathered for a summit seeking to dispel worry about rifts over peace efforts in Myanmar and to reaffirm the relevance of their disparate group. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, opening a summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), called on the group to devise a "long-term tactical strategy that is relevant and meets people's expectations".