BOAO, Hainan, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Four development deficits restrict the sustainable recovery of Asian development, according to a report released by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Sunday.
The COVID-19 pandemic ravaging since early 2020 has further widened the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) gap, according to the forum's Sustainable Development: Asia and the World Annual Report 2021.
The report highlights addressing "four development deficits" to attain a sustainable recovery, which are health, infrastructure, green, and digital deficits.
"Under the pandemic, Asian countries have reinforced their health care system by all means, stabilized the global supply chain, and led trade and investment recovery," said the report.
On the health deficit, rapidly distributing vaccines is a daunting task for Asia. Various health policies need to be maintained to flatten the pandemic curve, and public health infrastructure is also crucial to guarantee health security and epidemic preparedness.
In the field of infrastructure, the level of infrastructure development in Asia seems uneven, the report said. Hard and soft infrastructure need to be more resilient to bolster economic activities and supply chains within the region.
On the green deficit, announcements made by leaders of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other Asian economies on carbon neutrality in 2020 are most welcome. Concrete blueprints are needed for industrial transformation, technological advancement, and financial adaptation and mitigation.
Digital inequality exists across the Asian economies, with the top digital firms highly concentrated geographically, the report said. How to bridge the digital gap across the Asian economies is presently one of Asia's biggest challenges, it added. Enditem
