Link Asean Pandemic Recovery Fund to sustainability

LINKING the Asean Pandemic Recovery Fund to the region's climate and sustainability commitments should be high on the agenda at the Asean Finance Ministers' annual meeting on Friday.

The Fund, to be launched at the Asean leaders' summit in November, will focus on filling the region's US$2.8 trillion infrastructure gaps over time, while providing more immediate stimulus to the region's struggling Covid-affected economies.

As the Fund gets designed, there is a perfect opportunity to link its project selection and risk assessment framework to the region's climate change agenda and its UN Sustainable Development Goal commitments.