COVID-19 has resulted in unprecedented costs for ASEAN and the world in terms of human lives and economic growth. In this article for the Journal of Greater Mekong Studies, Associate Professor Simon Tay, Chairman of the SIIA, and Sarah Loh, Policy Research Analyst (ASEAN), discussed ASEAN’s role and relevance in helping the region cope. They argue that while the key actors responding to the pandemic are national governments, ASEAN has several critical functions to fulfil. While ASEAN has enabled timely exchanges of information and best practices among its members through existing cooperative mechanism, the pandemic presents an opportunity for it to strengthen regional economic integration by removing trade barriers, especially for essential items and medical supplies.
Read the article here.
