COVID-19 threatens to reverse decades of progress in open borders for trade, investment, and people. The report examines how regional cooperation and integration can help economies in Asia and the Pacific recover and reconnect. It also features a theme chapter “Making Digital Platforms Work in Asia,” which discusses how to realize vast potential of the digital economy during and after the pandemic.

Objectives

Webinar attendees will have the chance to engage with the speakers and:

• Understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade, investment, finance, and people’s mobility;
• Explore how the reconfiguration of supply chains will reshape the global trade landscape;
• Examine how different foreign direct investment policies—including investment restrictions and bilateral investment treaties—can affect cross-border investment flows; and
• Discuss how digitalization and regional cooperation can promote economic recovery as the COVID-19 threat wanes. 

Participants

Policy makers in Asia and the Pacific; researchers in academia and think tanks; members of the international development community; ADB Board, Management, and staff.

Webinar hosts

Yasuki Sawada
Chief Economist and Director General
Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department
Asian Development Bank

Cyn-Young Park
Director, Regional Cooperation and Integration Division
Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department
Asian Development Bank

Moderator

Karen Lane
Director
Department of Communications
Asian Development Bank

Information about this event was first published by the Asian Development Bank.