Tracking development finance in Southeast Asia: A new tool from the Lowy Institute

Southeast Asia is home to some of the fastest-growing economies and populations in the world. It is also a region that needs immense development finance to sustain this growth, while facing significant development challenges, including poverty, limited access to education and healthcare, political instability, and acute vulnerability to disasters.

To provide a comprehensive yet nuanced understanding of development finance in this incredibly dynamic region, the Lowy Institute developed the Southeast Asia Aid Map, an interactive database that tracks and maps aid and development finance flows from the international community to Southeast Asia. The developers of the project hope it can foster increased aid efficiency in Southeast Asia through better transparency and coordination of development efforts.

On July 13, the Brookings Institution and the Lowy Institute co-hosted the Washington, DC launch of the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Aid Map. Project co-lead Alexandre Dayant provided a brief introduction to the Aid Map, before joining his co-lead Roland Rajah and Brookings Senior Fellows David Dollar and Mireya Solís in a conversation moderated by Nonresident Senior Fellow Jonathan Stromseth. The panelists discussed key takeaways from the database and the geopolitical competition surrounding development finance in the region.

Viewers submitted questions via e-mail to [email protected] or via Twitter at #SoutheastAsiaAidMap.

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