The seminar is attended by policymakers from ASEAN+3 member authorities, and representatives from international financial institutions and the private sector.

BANGKOK, 22 January 2019 – The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held the 6th AMRO-IMF Joint Seminar today. This seminar takes place annually, and serves as a useful platform for AMRO to consult with its stakeholders on its surveillance work, particularly studies on longer-term structural issues facing the region, as well as deepen its engagement with the IMF.

Seminar participants included policymakers from ASEAN+3 member authorities, and representatives from international financial institutions and the private sector.


Panelists in session 1. From left to right: Dr Khor Hoe Ee, AMRO Chief Economist; Dr Lam San Ling, AMRO; Dr Cyn-Young Park, Director, Regional Cooperation and Integration, Asian Development Bank (ADB); and Dr Bandid Nijathaworn, Former Deputy Governor, Bank of Thailand (BOT); and current AMRO Advisory Panel Member.

AMRO Chief Economist, Dr Hoe Ee Khor moderated the first session, during which AMRO presented on its thematic study ASEAN+3: Building Capacity and Connectivity for the New Economy. The session examined the region’s infrastructure needs, and ways to address existing gaps in building capacity and connectivity. This is also the theme for AMRO’s ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO) 2019, and the seminar provided an opportunity for AMRO to consult with the diverse group of participants and benefit from their insights on the issues.

The second session was moderated by Ms Nada Choueiri, Division Chief at the Asia-Pacific Department of the IMF. It explored ways for ASEAN to speed up integration to boost intraregional and global trade and develop a new driver of growth.

About AMRO:

ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) is an international organization established to contribute to securing economic and financial stability of the ASEAN+3 region, which include 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China; Hong Kong, China; Japan; and Korea. AMRO fulfils its mandate by conducting regional economic surveillance, supporting the implementation of the regional financial arrangement, the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM), and providing technical assistance to its members.