Economic Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), high-level United States Government representatives, and business leaders from the United States and ASEAN gathered at a one-day ASEAN-US Business Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Burma , to discuss regional policies to support small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development. The United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) worked with the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development in Burma, the Chair of ASEAN in 2014, to hold this Second Business Summit with the support of ASEAN and U.S. business organizations.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have announced 26 new research projects in Asia funded through the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program a joint initiative designed to foster collaborative global research. Through this competitive grants program, USAID directly supports researchers in developing countries who work with U.S. government-funded U.S. scientists. Two of new projects are funded by USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia and will strengthen regional biodiversity research networks and enhance coordinated data collection and monitoring to inform development and policy interventions.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Rockefeller Foundation have announced a $100 million Global Resilience Partnership that lays out a bold new vision for building resilience to disasters, food insecurity, the effects of climate change and other factors contributing to poverty in communities across Asia and Africa.
A new agreement signed this week at a gathering of public and private sector water experts will make it easier to expand partnerships for better water and wastewater management, benefiting tens of thousands of citizens in cities throughout Asia and the Pacific. Signed at the WaterLinks Forum by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), WaterLinks, and the WaterLinks Alliance, including Miya Philippines, Inc. (Miya), Borouge Pte Ltd (Borouge), and the Indonesia Water Supply Association (PERPAMSI), the memorandum of understanding (MOU) sets out conditions to help improve urban water supply and sanitation services of at least 220,000 people in the region.
While important progress has been made in recent years, being lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) in China remains difficult. The first national report on LGBT issues in China commends positive steps such as the abolishment of laws used to intimidate LGBT people and the fact that homosexuality has been taken off the list of mental diseases. The report also highlights a positive growth in LGBT civil society, changing societal attitudes and a growing interest from academic institutions on LGBT-related research and policy discussions.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Cambodia continue to face abuse and discrimination at home, at school, in the workplace and in the media. LGBT rights advocates are calling protection from ill treatment and for equal opportunities, according to the first comprehensive report of its kind released today.
CEBU, PHILIPPINES, August 1, 2014 – Marine law enforcement officers from 10 countries gathered in the Philippines July 28-August 1, 2014 to begin an unprecedented regional cooperative training effort to counter the illegal smuggling of endangered and protected marine wildlife.
Papua New Guinea’s forestry stakeholders met today on national-level forest-related policy and legislation. They want to improve land and forest management and facilitate implementation of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+).
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