Economic expansion of Laos is forecast to contract this year for the first time since 1980s due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the economy will recover in 2021, according to the Asian Development (ADB)’s recent report.
Australia said it will offer the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) a 60-million-USD package under the Partnerships for Recovery programme to support the region in COVID-19 related health security, stability and economic recovery.
Despite relatively effective containment of Covid-19, the impact of the pandemic on Thailand's economy has been more severe than expected and economic recovery remains elusive, with annual GDP poised to shrink by 8 percent, says the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
At the height of the longest and most stringent COVID-19 lockdown in the region, the second-quarter revenues of major industries in the Philippines fell by 26.8 percent year-on-year, also slashing jobs and incomes as the economy contracted.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has maintained its position as China’s leading trade partner with two-way trade hitting 416.6 billion USD in the January-August period, according to the General Administration of Customs of China.
The ASEAN ministers’ meeting on human resources development in a changing world of work, is underway in the form of video conference from September 15-16.
ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi and US Agency for International Development (USAID) Principal Officer to ASEAN Ryan Washburn have recently signed a Regional Development Cooperation Agreement (RDCA) between ASEAN and the US.
Thailand's cross-border trade fell 8.5 percent year-on-year in January-July period, mostly due to the closure of border checkpoints amid COVID-19, according to the Thai Ministry of Commerce.
<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
