1. The ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) held a Special Meeting on  Sub-Regional Development on 9 September 2020 via video-conference to discuss sub-regional development across ASEAN and ASEAN’s role in promoting sub-regional development to achieve ASEAN Community building objectives.

2. The Ministers were briefed by the Secretary-General of ASEAN, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the President of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) on their perspectives regarding ASEAN’s role in  narrowing the development gap and enhancing ASEAN’s competitiveness as a region, promoting sustainable and equitable development in the region, and presenting the prospective role of sub-regional cooperation frameworks in regional integration efforts. The Ministers appreciated ADB’s long partnership with ASEAN in promoting sub-regional and regional development as well as its timely support for COVID-19 pandemic response. The Ministers commended efforts by ERIA as a regional think-tank in conducting quality research work to facilitate ASEAN’s regional integration process.