Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will
launch a new framework for financial cooperation that looks to help
increase their economic ties.
The finance ministers and central
bank governors from Japan and ASEAN member nations are expected to
meet in New Delhi, India, on May 3 on the sidelines of the annual
meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), according to Kyodo News on
April 25.
This will be the first meeting of the finance
ministers of Japan and ASEAN with the participation of central bank
chiefs since 1999.
The to-be-launched new financial
framework will be supplemented to the existing framework of ASEAN+3 (Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea) as Tokyo is seeking
to boost economic ties with ASEAN economies.
At the
upcoming meeting, Japan expects to revive its bilateral currency swap
agreements signed with Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, and
strengthen its existing bilateral agreements with Indonesia and the
Philippines .
The currency swap agreement was
launched in 2000 to address short-term liquidity problems in Asia
during its financial crisis.
Japan plans to work
with Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore to start discussions for
bilateral agreements that allow the central banks in each nation to
provide their local currency to Japanese banks by accepting Japanese
government bonds as collateral — the arrangement aims to make it easier
for Japanese firms operating in these countries to use the local
currencies.-VNA