The ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (May 4, 2025)

  On May 4, 2025, the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting was held in Milan, Italy. KATO Katsunobu, Japan’s Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Financial Services attended the meeting.

　At the meeting, Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM), the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI), Disaster Risk Financing (DRF), and other issues were discussed. The outcomes of the discussions are summarized in “Joint Statement”, and released.

　The main points of Joint Statement are as follows.

   Regional Economic Developments and Outlook

• Recognize the pivotal role of the ASEAN+3 Finance Process in supporting regional economies to navigate uncertainty, agree to further strengthen regional financial cooperation.
• Reaffirm commitment to a rules-based, non-discriminatory, free, fair, open, inclusive, equitable, and transparent multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, amid heightened uncertainties and long-term structural shifts.

   Strengthening Regional Financial Cooperation

   (Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation – CMIM)

• Approve the amendment of the CMIM Agreement to introduce the Rapid Financing Facility (RFF), enabling timely access to emergency financing in response to sudden exogenous shocks such as pandemics and natural disasters.
• Continue discussions on transitioning CMIM to a paid-in capital structure to further complement the Global Financial Safety Net.

   (ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office – AMRO)

• Praise the outgoing Director and welcome Mr. Yasuto Watanabe as the incoming Director, with expectations for AMRO to further strengthen its role in regional stability.

   (Other Initiatives)

• Welcome the progress achieved under the Asian Bond Markets Initiatives (ABMI) Medium-Term Roadmap.
• Endorse the conceptual pillars of the Disaster Risk Financing Initiative (DRFI) Roadmap for 2026–2028.

　In the margin of the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting, the Trilateral (China, Japan and Korea) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting was also held. The outcomes of the discussions are summarized in “Joint Message”, and released.