On the morning of October 1, 2020, at the International Convention Center, Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and Vice Minister Tran Xuan Ha of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) co-chaired the virtual Meeting between the ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies with Mr. Brent McIntosh - Under Secretary for International Affairs of the United States Department of the Treasury. This is an important event in the series of ASEAN finance and banking cooperation process under Vietnam’s chairmanship in 2020.
Attending the Meeting were delegates from the Central Banks and the Ministries of Finance of ASEAN member countries, together with the US Department of the Treasury and the ASEAN Secretariat. At the Meeting, Deputy Governors and Vice Ministers exchanged and discussed on three main topics, namely: (i) Priorities for ASEAN finance and banking cooperation in 2020; (ii) Economic policies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic; (iii) Transparency of public debt and financial management, and finance for infrastructure development.
In the opening remarks, SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong and Vice Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha introduced the theme of ASEAN 2020 under the chairmanship of Vietnam, together with the priority orientations of the economic pillar. As one of the important areas in the economic cooperation channel, the finance and banking cooperation has been chosen to be strongly promoted by the SBV and the MOF. Accordingly, Vietnam have proposed two priority initiatives for ASEAN 2020, namely "Sustainable finance in ASEAN" and "Promoting regional payment connectivity". These are important aspects and have positive implications not only for Vietnam but also for all ASEAN member countries.
Following the ASEAN 2020 theme of "A Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN" under the chairmanship of Vietnam, for the banking sector, the SBV has proposed the topic of "Promoting regional payment connectivity" as one of the 13 national priority initiatives for the economic pillar. This initiative was chosen based on the context of increasing globalization of trade and investment, tourism and human mobility within the region, and the payment systems play an important role in facilitating the efficient, secure and reliable cross-border financial transactions. The ASEAN Central Banks are currently joining hands to build a common framework and principles to promote the integration of real-time retail payment systems within ASEAN.
SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong speaks at the meeting
During the panel discussion session on Economic policies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic under the chair of SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong, US Under Secretary of Treasury Brent McIntosh and Dr. Aladdin D. Rillo, ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General, delivered two discussion notes on the policy responses of the US and ASEAN in general in the context of the complicated and unpredictable developments the Covid-19 pandemic. Several delegates from ASEAN member countries also shared more perspectives about the macroeconomic policies in general and the fiscal-monetary policies in particular as well as the prospects of economic recovery of different countries in the short and medium term.
In concluding the panel discussion session, SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong emphasized that as economies are largely dependent upon one another, the pandemic’s impacts on the global socio-economic development, including that of ASEAN and the US, have become even more serious and complicated. However, the Central Banks and Finance Ministries have taken swift and timely actions to maintain the financial and macro-economic stability. The delegates also shared the view that as the global economy is facing an array of difficulties and challenges, close bilateral and regional cooperation among countries’ finance-banking agencies has a crucial role to play. ASEAN countries look forward to continuing regular policy dialogue and close cooperation with the US in the future.
After the virtual ASEAN-US Treasury Deputies’ Meeting, SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong continued to co-chair the ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting (AFCDM).
VA