The Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) finance ministers began their annual meeting here today amid forecast of slower economic growth and looming recession in the US, the world's biggest economy), Bernama reported. Vietnam's Finance Minister Ninh Vu Van will chair the ministers' retreat in the world heritage site of Hoi An, ahead of their formal discussion here Friday. Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop is leading the Malaysian delegation. On the sidelines of the 12th Asean Finance Ministers' Meeting (AFMM), Nor Mohamed, who arrived here last night, met with Ninh and his Singapore counterpart Tharman Shanmugaratnam for separate bilaterial talks, as well as discussion with World Bank managing director Juan Jose Daboud. All the ministers will also meet the business community during the Asean-US Business Council luncheon before meeting their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea tomorrow. This year's gathering at Vietnam's biggest city is aimed at further strengthening economic and financial cooperation among the 10 members as the grouping works towards the Asean Economic Community by 2015. The ministers will work out the Roadmap for Financial and Monetary Integration, which includes capital market development, financial services liberalisation, cooperation in insurance, Customs, infrastructure financing mechanism and Asean economic surveillance mechanism. But the officials said top on the table would be the deliberations on how the region would deal with the impending economic slowdown, as well the impact of the sub-prime crisis and possible recession in the US. In view of that, the ministers will look into the eight-year-old Chiang Mai Initiative, the bilateral currency swaps between Asean and the three dialogue partners initiated following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, as well as the Asean + 3 Bond Market Initiative. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have forecast slower growth for the region but both are confident it would not lead to another financial crisis similar to the 1997 Asian meltdown. Beside Daboud, Asian Development Bank's president, Haruhiko Kuroda is also attending the meeting. Tomorrow, the ministers will sign the Protocol to Implement the Fourth Package of Commitments on Financial Services Under the Asean Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS).
