The ASEAN+3 Macro-Economic Research Office (AMRO) will be set up within this month under the agreement reached among ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers in support to the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM).

This is one of the results of the 13 th ASEAN+3 ( Japan , the RoK and China ) Finance Ministers Meeting that took place in Uzbekistan on May 2, said the Vietnamese Finance Ministry.

The meeting said the CMIM agreement that took effect on March 24, 2010 marked an important development in the ASEAN+3 regional financial cooperation progress in order to address temporary liquidity and short-term balance of payment difficulties for regional members and further increase the region’s self-defence capability in facing global economic risks and challenges.

Within the framework of the Asian bond market development initiative (ABMI), ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers announced to set up the credit guarantee and investment Facility (CGIF) with an initial capital of 700 million USD. CGIF which will start operation in early 2011 will guarantee businesses in the bond issuance sector. With Vietnam ’s commitment to contribute 1.1 million USD, the country’s businesses are entitled to receive credits guarantee of 140 million USD from the CGIF.

The ministers also agreed to set up the ASEAN+3 bond market forum (ABMF) to facilitate the exchange of views among policy makers, market managers and investors on cross-border bond transaction with the aim of standardising markets and harmonise the legal framework of regional bond markets.

They also reached consensus on the establishment of the ASEAN+3 finance cooperation special task force to devise strategies for future finance cooperation among ASEAN+3.

On the sideline of the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting, the first unofficial informal ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting together with Australia, New Zealand and India took place under the chair of Vietnamese Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh.

The G-20 members taking part in the meeting voiced their support to Vietnam in a capacity as ASEAN’s representative to attend the G-20 Summit in the Republic of Korea in November.

The 14 th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting will take place in Vietnam next year./.