Detiktoday.com – ASEAN Plus Three (APT) cooperation relations began to form since 1997 involving three East Asian countries namely China, Japan and Korea. The 1st APT Summit was held in December 1997 in Kuala Lumpur when the Asian region was hit by an economic crisis.
Indonesia conveyed the importance of continuing the cooperation that had been established within the framework of the ASEAN Plus Three (APT). This includes the implementation of the Regional economic recovery effort due to the rapid COVID-19 pandemic.
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This was stated by Chair of SOM Indonesia / Director General of ASEAN Cooperation, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jose Tavares in a meeting of senior ASEAN Plus Three (APT SOM) officials by teleconference, Monday, July 20, 2020 in Jakarta.
On this occasion, Indonesia said a.l. the development of the formation of the APT Task Force on Pandemic which is the proposal of Indonesia at the Special ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) last April to minimize the impact of a pandemic in the region.
This initiative has been included in the Joint Statement of the Special ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“I am sure that this Task Force (on Pandemic) will strengthen cooperation in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region, (in the future) further strengthening the readiness and prevention of various pandemic diseases so that our society is more resilient and stronger in facing similar challenges in the future” , stressed Dirjen Tavares.
Indonesia is also pushing again to optimize the role of the APTERR (ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve) in anticipating food insecurity due to a pandemic.
There is a shared concern to ensure the implementation of various commitments by APT leaders in anticipating various impacts caused by this pandemic.
In addition to issues related to economic cooperation, connectivity and digital infrastructure, the meeting also discussed a number of prominent issues of common interest in the region, including the issue of the South China Sea (LCS), the Korean Peninsula issue, and the repatriation process at Rakhine State.
Going forward, APT cooperation will continue to build resilience of regional economic resilience through strengthening the existing economic cooperation infrastructure in APT such as the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) and ASEAN + 3 Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR), ensuring trade and distribution of goods flows ( including essential movements, especially business people) and strengthening ASEAN coordination in the fields of economy, trade (including strengthening MSMEs), digital connectivity infrastructure, health cooperation networks and social safety nets to strengthen ASEAN community resilience.
APT is a framework of cooperation between the ten ASEAN member countries with China, Japan and South Korea which have been established since 2007.
In general, the cooperation carried out is in the fields of trade, investment, finance and banking, technology transfer, industry, agriculture, Micro Business. Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), tourism, business networks, and science and technology.
In addition, relevant to regional and global developments, APT also discussed cooperation in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
